Deluge of problems wash away Indiranagar after rain

An underground drainage system in Indiranagar collapsed last week, resulting in overflowing of manholes. Residents of HAL 3rd stage, Jeevan Bima Nagar Main Road, Michel Playa, 6th Main, and 14th Main are bearing the brunt of the problem as the overflowing rain water has entered their houses.
 The roads are full of potholes filled up with rain water. Now, the most daunting task faced by the residents is sewage water getting mixed with water stored in sumps.
"The problem of sewage water getting mixed with drinking water and overflowing manholes is making life miserable for us," said a resident of 6th Main.
Recently, in 14th Main, an elderly woman saw the worst of rain as her whole home was inundated with water from the drains. As she stays alone, she was helpless and clueless what to do in such a situation.
When Cityplus contacted her, she said that despite repeated requests to the authorities to clear debris which blocked the drains near her house, there was no response. The whole drainage system in the area is blocked by construction debris left unattended on the sides of the drains.

Mosquito-ridden
Visit any residents of HAL and Indiranagar, you will find most of them are down with viral fever and other mosquito-borne diseases as stagnant water on the roads has become breeding ground for mosquitoes.
In Michel Playa, the problem was temporarily solved when the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) workers cleared the clogged drains, but it did not last too long. The heavy showers last week again washed the muck kept on the sides of the drain back to the drains.
The sewer lines of the area are more than 45 years old and inadequate to bear the volume of sewage, especially from the huge apartments in and around Indiranagar.
The situation is the worst in the mornings in areas like 4th Main, 6th Cross, HAL III stage when pressure on the sewer lines is at the highest.
"There is backflow of sewage and water overflows on to the roads during mornings," complained M V Prabhu from HAL.
The stench coming from it is unbearable and there is a backflow of sewage water even in the kitchens in a few homes.

BWSSB response
When Cityplus contacted a BWSSB official to get answers, he blamed the geography of the place for these problems. According to him the problem is because some areas in the locality are low-lying and the new high-rise apartments are adding extra pressure to the sewage flow.
However, he admitted that the diameters of the underground sewage pipes are smaller to handle such load and informed us that the board plans to change the pipelines shortly.
Now, residents are hoping that this overflowing issue be solved before the onset of monsoon.
—Anjali Srivastava