The whole idea of publishing this report is to help the community understand what is in store, make their own assessments (many are engineers, some specialised in Hydrology, too), and engage with the powers that be to make correctives, if required.

 

Met Mr Naveen, JE, BWSSB, along with Maj Kapur, in connection with the problem of sewage from S T Bed area being let into the secondary drain flowing behind Maj Kapur's house. His explanation was that it was a temporary arrangement, since the STP down the main line was majfunctioning. Speaking to Maj Kapur today, it appears the bigger part of the problem has been sorted out, but a small part still remains, which is expected to be sorted out soon. 

 

More importantly, what Mr Naveen had to say was that the huge 6ft dia pipes, seen in Nirguna Mandir (Shantinagar Housinbg Society) layout, were not meant for diverting storm water from the 80 ft road, past Sony World/ Maharaja junctions, as told to me by Mr Govardhan Reddy, but for diverting sewage from Passport office/ Games Village area to Bellandur (hopefully via an STP), via 1st main, S T Bed layout. If this is true, life is going to become even more difficult in S T Bed layout. 

 

All in all, totally opaque goings on.     

PS: Work order issued from honourable MLA Sri RamalingaReddy to agency for construction of parallel drain to SWD K-100 from Sony World junction to Bellandur lake to carry excess flood water from Koramangala and adjacent areas

 

VB: Where would this drain be? Under 80ft rd or 1st Main or ??

 

PS: Exact details do not know. Parallel drain from Sony junction to avoid flood in koramangala 4th block and 80' road.

 

Me: Isn't it important that we all know the details, particularly so when many of the past ventures have proved ineffective?

 

GK: 4th Blockers can enlighten us cos this is driven by them .... the basic scheme we have heard about ... implementation is another challenge for sure.

 

GK: Running an underground pipe 6-8ft dia along 80ft road ... connecting the 4th block drains to those pipes .... reaching first block park where they plan a transfer pit / well .... then pipes along 7th A main ( Cooks Palace Road) to reach levels below the primary SWD with a tunnel some 10ft below the SWD bed ... then run along Prestige Pinewood towards Bellandur. And also connect ST bed to this line near Bethany school ....This is what I heard was the plan .... however... the key to this success remains basic engineering and gravitational flow principles to ensure that from 10ft below the SWD we can still expect water to flow to Bellandur ( at any point of time we have 3ft water in the primary swd .... ) complications with existing UGD and several service lines below 80ft road , along 7th A main, risk of back flow at Kamal Bakery junction and Park; New UGD lines along same alignment as the box drains planned beyond Bethany .... and ofcourse all this with traffic flow of 80ft road being what it is with no alternative till 100ft road is completed in 2020!

 We are always assured that levels are verified and the scanning done along planned routes ... but no transparency in that data being shared with us directly affected parties....

 

Me: This was another issue I wanted to raise at what perhaps was intended to pass off as a "ward committee" meet last week - but, never got an opportunity

 

AR: Bangalore, and particularly Koramangala, is becoming absolutely and completely impossible to live in. There are no roads, no lights, only ditches and potholes. And loads of garbage and sewage. And with real estate supply spiking up soon... I wonder what pressure this will have on the value of our real estate here. From Indus River Valley Civilization, we have become Koramangala Drain Valley Uncivilization. Instead of civilizations arising along nurturing rivers, modern day urbanization center's us around drainages. Rather than taking what we need, our rivers now carry what we reject.

 

A prominent resident of S T Bed layout, got to check with the highest levels at BWSSB, who have now confirmed to him that the 6 ft dia pipes are for pumping sewage from Passport office/ new Mantri Mall/ Games Village area to Bellandur lake (after treatment at an STP adjacent to the lake). And, the route to be followed is - below the SWD (adjacent to the Games Village area) bed till it crosses the IRR (near Naveen Terraces), and from thereon, below the 1st A Main S T Bed laout, and then below 1st Main till "Seva-in-Action" junction, from where it will go below the Nirguna Mandir layout roads (where the pipe laying is already in progress, and a car has already fallen into the trenches, due to carelessness of BWSSB - check picture) to STP, and finally Bellandur lake.

 

 

Many questions arise hereof:

 

1) If the volume of sewage is so huge that it requires a 6 ft dia pipe to be conveyed, why isn't the BWSSB setting up an STP in the immediate vicinity (between the beneficiaries, they should be able to find the space), instead of spending huge amounts on this highly challenging job, that is besides going to be upsetting the lives of S T Bed layout residents for months/ years together? This is even as the current rules require apartment complexes with more than just 50 units to have captive STP's.

 

2) The S T Bed 1st A main road is quite narrow and has at least four 90 degree bends. How is such a road going to accommodate the 6 ft dia pipes below it?

 

All in all, a very poorly thought-through 'adventure', and a very costly one at that, all paid out of tax payers' money. It's going to be even costlier for the S T Bed layout residents if it eventually doesn't quite function properly.

 

The need for genuine citizen consultation prior to launching on such projects cries out loudly once again.