Drain water adds to Monday Blues

BANGALORE: Splash of Monsoon showers and regular traffic congestion on Bannerghatta Road were now not the only reasons for commuters to complain on Monday morning.The manhole near Sagar Hospital overflowed leading to serpentine traffic jam.The worst affected stretch was between Jayadeva flyover and Sagar Hospital Junction. Traffic towards Dairy Circle moved at snail pace and what took 15-minutes to cross the 200-meter stretch took nearly 40-minutes.“It was only after we came to the Junction did we realise the cause. There was ankle deep water flowing on the road. Since I was riding a two-wheeler and the vehicles were inching towards the junction, I initially thought it was rain water. And then the stench hit me,” said Jamal Akram, a worker in a granite company situated on that road.As the instantaneous reaction of people was to speed away from the place, the drain water splashed on other commuters and pedestrians walking towards nearby bus bays leaving several in dismay. “It was nauseating to travel on that road. I was on a two-wheeler, the tyres carried the stench to almost Dairy Circle,” said Arunima P, a student of Christ University.Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) officials explained that drains in Bismillah Nagar were clogged due to the previous night’s rain. “It started overflowing in the morning, and we received complaints at around 9 am.When we started checking for the block, we found clothes and even mattresses clogging the drains of Bismillah Nagar. Once we cleared, the manhole stopped overflowing by around 11.30 am,” said assistant executive engineer Gururaj.It has been earlier reported in the media about the deteriorated condition of the drain network on Bannerghatta Road. Earlier, BWSSB officials had stated that pipes would be soon replaced for that stretch and tenders would be called soon to start the work.But, several months down the lane, the same reply was given once again, and this time too, without action.