Bengaluru rain: India's IT capital needs Rs 2,800 cr, 600 km drainage to prevent floods, claims report

Bengaluru, which is dubbed India's Silicon Valley, might need a whopping Rs 2,800 crore to build 658 km long new stormwater drains to prevent flooding in the city. A report by Knight Frank India, a property consultancy, released on Wednesday stated that Bengaluru though has seen a boom in real estate construction since 2000 due to the influx of tech companies, but the drainage system has not been developed at par.  

The report noted that rapid real estate development around lakes and over stormwater drains in the city has reduced the city's capacity to absorb rainwater, which resulted in unprecedented floods in 2022 that disrupted the IT industry.  

In its report, the real estate firm said that as Bengaluru is one of the key engines of the country's economic growth, real estate development will continue to expand to accommodate the city's growth.  

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The report added that the city's share of built-up area ballooned to 93 per cent in 2020 from 37 per cent in 2002, but Bengaluru has 842 kilometres of primary and secondary drains as part of its stormwater drainage (SWD) system but many of these needed to be overhauled. An additional 658 km of stormwater drainage is required as by 2031, the estimated population in Bengaluru would be around 18 million.  

Bengaluru witnessed its wettest May since 1957 as the Karnataka capital recorded 301.1 mm of rain during the month—breaching the all-time monthly record of 287.1 mm of rain in the same month in 1957. India Meteorological Department (IMD) data shows the city received 343 mm of rain from March 1 to May 30 this year.  

This year, the city has seen waterlogging and flooding due to ineffective or lack of stormwater drains. Recently, a 22-year-old woman drowned in a car she was travelling in with her family as the vehicle got stuck in neck-deep water at the KR Circle underpass.  

The heavy rains this week also caused severe flooding. Many of the roads in the city saw intense waterlogging and flooding. This included the roads around Sivananda Circle, Bannerghatta Road near Sagar Hospital junction, Lingarajapuram underpass, Chickpet Main Road, Sankey Road and KR Circle underpasses, and Old Madras Road.  

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The Karnataka government in its 2023-24 state budget announced an allocation of Rs 3,000 crore for developing stormwater drain infrastructure in the city with assistance from the World Bank, which according to Knight Frank is in line with its estimates.

(With agency inputs)

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