DK Shivakumar Orders Demolition of Encroachments Causing Bengaluru Flooding

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said Thursday he instructed Bengaluru civic authorities to demolish buildings where the natural flow of rainwater is being obstructed, leading to flooding.

Shivakumar, who holds the Bengaluru development portfolio, said, “The chief minister and I have already visited the rain-affected areas. This is a very important junction. The problem started here and has since spread to other areas.”

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He also said people obstructing the flow of water had received stay orders from the court and even civic officials were not cooperating to mitigate flooding in those areas.

"Therefore, I have instructed officials to remove the buildings causing the problem under the Disaster Management Act," he said.

Shivakumar urges landowners to cooperate

Shivakumar explained the intention of the government is not to destroy anyone's property or wrongly/purposefully target anyone's property but it was important to create a permanent solution to help make sure the rainwater would smoothly flow and not cause inconvenience.

“We are not keen to take away anyone's property and give them trouble. I am visiting the problem spots myself to verify. Everyone has agreed to allow the works to continue. But it is important to find a permanent solution. We don't want to demolish any random building, but it is important to ensure that rainwater flows smoothly without causing a flood. We can't allow Bengaluru's reputation to go down the drain,” he said, as quoted by ANI.

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The Karnataka deputy CM also urged landowners to cooperate, saying, “If a mistake has occurred due to technical reasons, we will provide compensation. We need a permanent solution to this issue. Everyone has agreed, and we will continue our work.”

The deputy CM had visited a number of different sites in Bengaluru which are vulnerable to flooding when it rains. One of those sites was the Manyata Tech Park where they had more stormwater drains than ever, ensuring water was inundated.

He also stated the chief commissioner of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, M Maheshwar Rao had been given blanket authority to direct removals of encroachments.

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