BBMP, Bescom should work in tandem

Tuesday saw April showers turn heavier than usual with Pulikeshinagar in Bengaluru north recording 122 mm rain an hour, VV Puram , 74 mm of rain an hour and Bommanahalli, 70 mm rain.

The figures provided by the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre, show  the rain was heavy for this time of the year in the city, leaving Bengalureans apprehensive of what is to come when the actual monsoon arrives in June.

As traffic became chaotic  and trees fell on Infantry Road, at Maruti Circle and in Adugodi , life in the city was once again thrown out of gear on Tuesday and people now believe the government agencies are themselves to blame.   

“Trees are  cut randomly by  BESCOM. It just  chops of  the branches near the electric lines without bothering to check if this will affect the tree's stability.  As the centre of gravity shifts, the tree becomes weak and when it rains and the soil loosens, it falls in heavy wind,” complains  Mr Sai Kumar, a resident of Koramangala, who maintains the problem lies in a lack of coordination between the various government agencies .

"If BESCOM  worked in tandem with the BBMP,  we could avoid such problems in the city.  Only the old and weak trees would fall in rain, not the others," he argues.

As for the gigantic potholes on the roads that submerge in rain, proving dangerous for unsuspecting motorists, he says this too is a reflection of the lack of coordination among government agencies. "Even after the BBMP lays a road,  the BWSSB and BESCOM dig it  up to lay their cables and pipelines. This  weakens it and leads to formation of potholes. And now the BMRCL is adding to the problem as its work on the Metro Rail is creating  potholes on roads, dust and pollution," Mr Sai laments.