Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, who holds charge of Bengaluru, announced that families living in each of the homes across the city that were flooded will be provided compensation of ₹25,000 and immediate arrangements for alternative places to stay, food and other basic facilities. He also announced compensation of ₹5 lakh for the two labourers killed while working on the Cauvery V Stage project pipeline at Ullal in the western part of Bengaluru.
Responding to criticism of widespread damage in Bengaluru, he said the only solution to the rain and flooding problem in the city was to revamp the entire Storm Water Drain (SWD) infrastructure.
“We have already earmarked ₹1,600 crore for SWD works. I have instructed officers to ruthlessly clear all bottlenecks. Of the 800+ km of the drain network, earlier governments had revamped around 400 km, and we have taken up the remaining work. We have also simultaneously taken up work on secondary and tertiary drains in the city this year. The situation would be far better next year. However, many layouts and apartments have come up on lake beds and wetlands in Bengaluru, which have to be tackled differently. We are looking into that as well,” he said.
