Watch: Bengaluru flooding: Is there a permanent solution?

If urban flooding can’t be avoided, what must Bengaluru do to mitigate its effects in the long term?

After a dry September, Bengaluru was expected to receive light to moderate rainfall in early October. But the onset of north-east monsoon brought chaos and misery to the city. In October alone, Bengaluru city received unexpected, incessant rainfall of 275 mm.

Soon, social media platforms were inundated with videos of helpless citizens narrating their nightmarish experiences. When as little as 10 mm of rainfall can submerge roads in parts of the city, a weather station in North Bengaluru recorded 186.2 mm of rainfall after overnight showers on Oct 22. This was the highest daily rainfall registered by an IMD station in the city in 27 years.

June 2, 2024, was the wettest day in Bengaluru in 133 years. These record-breaking rains are inevitably followed by a massive trail of destruction, raising questions over the BBMP’s woeful monsoon preparedness.

Following the recent rains, the State government is in talks with the World Bank for a loan of ₹5,000 crore - Rs 3,000 crore to be spent on development of public infrastructure and Rs 2000 crore on development of 173 km of rajakaluve. The State government has also prepared a ₹669-crore proposal to repair roads.

Meanwhile the government has offered ₹10,000 compensation to people whose houses were flooded after the rains. But that is simply not enough, say residents.

If urban flooding can’t be avoided, what must Bengaluru do to mitigate its effects in the long term?

We discuss with A. Ravindra, former BBMP commissioner, former BDA chairman and Chief Secretary, Govt. of Karnataka.