After downpour, blocked drain leaves township in waist-deep murky waters

BENGALURU: Newlywed Anushka, a resident of RK Township, near Bommasandra, off Hosur Road, was distraught Thursday morning. Till 1am, she and her family were busy clearing the dirty water that had entered their house during the downpour the previous evening.
“My new wedding dress is ruined, smelling bad and covered in mud. We had kept our clothes under the bed, and now everything is spoiled,” lamented Anushka, who got married only three months ago.Anushka’s was among the scores of houses that saw waist-deep water, till it receded early morning.
Water started entering homes at 7pm, flooding kitchens, bedrooms, and storage areas. Personal belongings and daily necessities were underwater in no time. “I, my brother, his wife, my sister-in-law, and my husband worked tirelessly from 9pm to 1am to clean up the mess. We have been enduring murky waters every time it rains, but it had never been this bad. We are forced to get food outside as we have nothing to eat,” Anushka said.
Reghu Ramachandran, an IT employee living in RK Township since 2010, highlighted the underlying issues. “The nearby Yarandahalli Lake has been contaminated. Renovation work started without letting us know, and it has been a messy job. The lake isn’t getting any water because the stormwater drain in the area isn’t connected to it. The result is that the SWD is carrying into our homes rainwater and industrial effluents, released into it by neighbouring industries, every time it rains. Wednesday evening, we had black and hazardous water entering our homes,” he told TOI.
Nagaraj H Joshi, another resident, pointed out ongoing problems with the lake rejuvenation project. “They promised rejuvenation 8-10 months ago but nothing has happened. From Jigani to RK Township, everything, from rainwater to industrial effluents, gets diverted into the SWD,” he said.
Another resident, Dilip Kumar, said, “The lake’s inlet channel is diverted and this ends up flooding my house. We have to park our cars about a kilometre away and wait for hours for the water to recede to even enter our stairs. Stray dogs are traumatized when it rains, we had to rescue one stuck in a drain. The biggest worry is the contaminated water, especially for senior citizens who might get infected.”
Waiting for new MP
Satish Reddy, president of RK Township residents’ association, said they are now pinning hopes on their new MP, Dr CN Manjunath, to visit them and resolve their woes.
Yarandahalli falls under Hennagara gram panchayat in Anekal taluk. Siddharaju, Hennagara panchayat development officer, said Wednesday’s rain was very heavy and nothing much could be done, but they were addressing the underlying issues. “Because of elections, there has been a delay in works. This is the first time something like this has happened, and we’re looking into it. A separate budget of Rs 95 lakh was allocated in 2023 but the works got delayed because of challenges in getting labourers on time, among other issues.”