Bengaluru: The development of storm water drains in Bengaluru will be completed by December this year, according to Minister for Bengaluru Development K J George.
The Rs 800-crore work on reinforcing storm water drains in the city was expected to be completed before the onset of monsoon. The minister on Sunday attributed the time taken to get all approvals for delay in completing the work.
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) had tendered 408 works to construct reinforced cement concrete (RCC) drains of 192 km at a cost of Rs. 800 crore after the July 2016 floods. On Sunday, BBMP officials admitted that work started as late as May.
The minister announced that an additional Rs. 300 crore proposal would be placed before the Cabinet on Monday. Once these works are completed, citizens would not have to worry about the aftermath of rains. Currently, tenders for 70 works for flood damage correction have been approved under the Chief Minister’s grant. This includes for repair and construction of drains in areas, which suffered the brunt of rains this year, he said.
The BBMP has submitted a Rs. 2 crore proposal to get robot multi-purpose excavators for dredging and cleaning of drains. “With the use of such machines, we will be able to complete dredging in vast stretches quickly,” said BBMP Commissioner Manjunath Prasad.
