Mangaluru Monsoon – Never Ending Nightmare for Commuters and Motorists!
Mangaluru: It has happened in the past, and its happening again…and again..and again- City streets flooded with rain water. If our past mayors and corporators, present Mayor and corporators are boasting and being proud of constructing many new drainage, then why is that still water is flooded and stranded on streets, making hard for two-wheelers and pedestrians to move around. The massive downpour has once again exposed the poor drainage system in Mangaluru. Roads drains and even houses in some areas were flooded, causing tremendous inconvenience to movement of people and traffic. Mangaloreans have to brace up lots of inconveniences and hassles during the monsoon, which is predicted to start on 8th or 9th June- as MCC is lacking behind in its expectations in getting ready for the rainy season.
Yesterday’s heavy rain in the evening is an eye-opener for Mangaluru City Corporation Mayor, City engineers/contractors, and other officials. Are they going to learn and improve – I very much doubt it- because we have seen and experience in the past. So by the way, why does this happen? Fundamentally, the existing infrastructure and drainage system in the city cannot handle the excess water whenever there’s a downpour. Originally, storm water drains in the City were designed in keeping the water stored- They served the purpose so long as the population of the city was within a certain limit. The unprecedented growth of Mangaluru, unaccompanied by the necessary infrastructure, has precipitated problems of a large magnitude. The city drainage system comprises major drains, roadside drains, and shoulder drains, all of which get overburdened during the rainy season.
It’s not just the drains but the design of roads that play a part in controlling floods. Roads must be designed based on the run-off of storm water. City drains can hold up to 45 mm of water per hour, not over 100 mm, as it happens now and then. As a result, rainwater that has no space to drain out. There are also other reasons for flooding, caused mainly by a lack of maintenance of roads, drains, footpaths and sewer lines. Rainwater accumulates in potholes and depressions on roads and drains out at a very slow pace, which is further compounded by the lack of proper connectivity to storm water drains. The rainwater instead of being diverted into culverts flows onto the streets, creating puddles and hardship to commuters. The main reason also for water flowing onto the road is because of the silt and garbage accumulated has choked drains and culverts.
Just look at the newly constructed drainage- most of them don’t have a proper beginning and a proper end- as a result, drain water overflows onto the streets. Poor planning and poor work, for sure. Also culverts are not de-silted; puddles not identified; no proper channels to drain rain water in many parts of the city; also MCC says that solid waste management contractors have failed to remove garbage/debris choked drains; weeds that have grown have not been cut or trimmed; old trees or branches not pruned nor axed- posing danger to commuters during gusty winds and thunderstorms; interlocks broken by Mescom during cable laying work still not replaced posing danger to pedestrians, even chances of getting electrocuted.
Another important factor relates to silting up of drains because of which much of the rainwater, which should be carried by the drains, overflows on to the streets. Further, water logging leads to clogging of sewer lines, thereby causing sewage to mix with storm water. Poor waste management also contributes to flooding – garbage, plastics and polythene bags are thrown into drains and obstruct the smooth flow of water. Water flooding which takes place every year near City Centre Mall is no exception this year too, with water stranded up to knee level. How about flooding near Jyothi Circle, Bendore-well, Fish Market area, Bunder, K S Rao Rd, Kankanady etc etc-the flooding is at every nook and corner. And when this happens, the MCC quickly puts the blame on Antony Waste Management, which handles city garbage, in fact, they are also responsible for cleaning the streets, clogged drains etc. Seems like it’s always a drama- “blaming on each other-MCC Vs Antony Waste Management Ltd “.
Encroachments, revenue layouts and illegal constructions, especially along storm water drains and in low-lying areas, are other major causes of flooding. These problems are common to all cities in India and are not peculiar to Mangaluru. In fact, coastal cities like Mangaluru face bigger problems, virtually every monsoon. What’s required is a comprehensive approach to the problem, which essentially involves putting in place a sustainable drainage management system as in developed countries. A storm water drain renovation and management projects pertaining to these issues need to be implemented soon. In the meantime, risk assessment of vulnerable areas must be carried out and corrective measures are taken to minimize them.
Rights activist Hanumantha Kamath speaking to Team Mangalorean said, ” MCC officials will splurge tax payers’ money in this monsoon. MCC spends lots of money undertaking road repair works or desilting drainage. Owing to MCC’s laxity, contractors have not bothered to clean drains-thus the situation during monsoons, will be worse than previous years. Maintaining citizens health should be the first priority and motto of MCC”. Raghu, owning a petty shop near Jyothi Circle said, ” We have seen this kind of flooding at this junction every time it rains heavily. Many requests and complaints to MCC and other district officials have proved no action. There are absolutely no proper outlets from the road to storm water drains- so the water collects and becomes a flood. While some of the outlets are quite narrow, other have been blocked by debris, thereby prevents easy flow of water into drains. MCC needs to act fast and rectify this long pending civic issue”.
Be it the impact of climate change and global warming or something else, we must be prepared for changes in temperature and untimely rain and floods. As the city grows in population and sprawl, there’s a need for concerted action on the part of city planning and civic agencies to tackle the problem of flooding, which can not only damage the physical infrastructure but has serious implications on the safety and security of the people. Building a good drainage system should form a part of the Mangaluru Master Plan, which is lacking terribly. While the City officials and local MLA’s, MLC and other politicians are boasting about Mangaluru as one of the “Smart City” of India, it is time that they also put in some dedicated, sincere and committed people to manage effective work in the development of the city- and also make sure that the drainage and footpaths are constructed to the standards, which will benefit the citizens of Mangaluru. If not it’s sheer waste of tax-payers money on these projects which are incomplete and non-usable- which is going down the drain!
Mayor Kavitha Sanil has said that yesterday’s storm was an eye-opener for the officials to identify the various locations which face problems during heavy rains- and the MCC officials will take action either by opening the water outlets or clean the choked drains. In the meantime, the DK District administration control room has announced that if anyone faces problems with flood water or storm related damages to call them at 1077. Also the fire department and emergency services dept will also be ready to handle any rain related problems if you dial the same number.