The recent urban floods in Bengaluru have highlighted the city’s struggles with unabated urbanisation, encroachment of lakes and drains, and large scale loss of green cover. Experts in urban issues, lakes and flood management have highlighted these factors as the reasons for the city’s large scale stagnation of flood waters. With a record-breaking 131.6 millimetre rainfall, IT parks in areas like Eco Space and residential areas along Outer Ring Road, Bellandur, Marathahalli, Sarjapur and Mahadevapura were inundated with stormwater for days.
Bengaluru was once known as the ‘City of Lakes’ due to the undulating terrain of the city, which had a plethora of lakes that were inter-connected with a system of canals/drains called (kaluve) which ensured the transfer of excess water from one lake to another. However, increased urbanisation has altered local landscape. The city once had 400 lakes, but with the passage of time, the number was reduced to 260 by the 1940s and now stands at just 65.
According to the city’s disaster risk map, Bengaluru has 134 flood-prone points in different parts of the city. Several experts and studies have pointed out encroachments of the lakes and drainage system leading to interference in the city’s drainage system. The tributaries of the Kaveri river, such as Arkavathi, Pinakini/Pennar and Shimsha, take the excess water from the city lakes and drainage system to the Kaveri river, as the city lacks a perennial river.
The loss of green cover has also contributed to the floods. The city’s green cover has been reduced from 70 percent in 1973 to 6.46 percent in 2018. The lack of attention towards conserving and regulating floodplains of water bodies has increased the threat of urban flooding. Experts have suggested restoration of lakes, increasing green cover and regulating encroachments on floodplains of the water bodies to prevent such incidents in future.
