Bengaluru’s complexities make it no Electronic City, says BBMP chief

Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Chief Commissioner M Maheshwar Rao responded to comparisons between Bengaluru and Electronic City by emphasizing how unfair such parallels are, given the vast difference in size and intricacy between the two.

Speaking to News18, Rao welcomed ideas about adopting innovations from the Electronic City Industrial Township Authority (ELCITA). However, he reminded everyone that Bengaluru, with a population exceeding 14 million, faces challenges far beyond those of a smaller industrial township like Electronic City.

Rao praised ELCITA’s work, noting that operating in a controlled, compact environment allows easier management of companies and stakeholders. “We would be eager to learn from their successes, but Bengaluru’s scale and complexity make the situation very different,” he added.

Addressing the city’s capacity to handle rainfall, Rao explained Bengaluru is designed to cope with 65–70 mm of rain, a standard for Indian metros. Yet, a recent downpour delivered 104 mm in one day—the second-highest rainfall in a decade—putting unprecedented strain on drainage systems.

The comments came after Biocon Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw’s social media post urging ELCITA to manage Bengaluru’s industrial zones and train BBMP officials, citing the city’s “insufferable” living conditions. Rao, meanwhile, personally inspected flood-hit areas, including the notoriously flood-prone Sri Sai Layout in KR Puram, where waterlogged drains and outdated railway vents exacerbate flooding.

Rao highlighted that the nalla near Sai Layout sits higher than the area, causing runoff to stagnate—a persistent challenge despite multiple efforts.

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