India's IT capital Bengaluru has been facing unprecedented flooding and waterlogging following an unusually heavy monsoon. The rain, which has led to hardships and displacement for thousands of city dwellers, has also revealed the feudal mindset and hypocrisy of the city's rich, many of whom have been blaming immigrants amd the poor for what many are calling a "man-made flood".
Photos and videos of the severe inundation in some parts of Bengaluru started going viral earlier in the week and many across the country sighed at the plight of tech billionaires being whisked out of the lofty Epsilon after rain flooded their multi-crore homes. On Tuesday, Unacademy CEO Gaurav Munjal was evacuated from his home along with his family and pet dog on a tractor. But while CEOs riding tractors to work make for good headlines, not many seem to care about the lesser privileged victims of the floods, the poor migrants, and the destitute of the city. In fact, they are the ones being blamed for the crisis. Hashtags like #MigrantsGoBack or #LeaveBengaluru have been trending on social media ever since some people complained about the flooding on platforms like Twitter. While the "local" vs "migrants battle on social media was fought between equals, the real struggles were being fought by the marginalised.
Is the Bengaluru flood a man-made disaster?
City residents as well as planning experts have blamed the rampant and unplanned construction in Bengaluru for the severe flooding, especially in East Bengaluru which sits lower than the central core parts of the city perched on the edge of a topographical ridge. Critics argue that several lakes and storm drains in the city have been filled up for the construction of skyscrapers and swanky corporate towers and housing structures.
As per the latest audit by the CAG, waterbodies with a storage capacity of 35tmcft dropped from 1,452 during the early 1800s to barely 194 with storage capacity of 5tmcft by 2016. Siltation in recent years has further affected storage quality.
In light of the drastic flooding, the Karnataka government has said that all encroaching buildings that block the flow of water or stormwater drains will be removed. The call seems to have fueled the anger against the city's immigrant population. However, reports note that some of the prominent tech parks and the second runway of the Bengaluru airport lie in such areas of the city and would be the first to be removed in case the government's order is implemented.
Record rainfall
Meanwhile, rain has been the first villain in Bengaluru. According to the IMD data, Bengaluru Rural gauged 752.3mm of rainfall against a normal of 303.5mm between September 1 and September 7, an excess of 148 percent. Bengaluru Urban received 168 percent surplus rainfall, 840.2mm of precipitation against a normal of 313.2mm during the period.
In August, Bengaluru received 370 mm of rainfall, a little short of the all-time record of 387.1 mm of rainfall in August 1998. While flood waters receded in some parts of the city on Wednesday, the worst is not over for city residents with the weather bureau predicting heavy rainfall over south interior Karnataka, including the city, for the next two days.
Can migrants alone be blamed?
While indiscriminate housing and illegal construction in violation of city planning rules is a problem, the poor and immigrants alone cannot be blamed for the crisis. The floods are the result of lack of proper city planning or vision for the city's future in the past present and past governments as well.
Instead of blaming migrants, Bengaluru needs a firm plan to tackle urban water run-offs and increase conservation efforts to preserve and forge lakes as well and water storage units. Even little steps like rainwater harvesting can go a long way in mitigating urban flooding.
As in most disasters, the poor and marginalised are the most affected. In colonies of migrant workers in the flooded parts of the city, residents report huge losses as water has left their tents and lodgings submerged.
Understanding factors that cause urban flooding - a phenomenon that has become common across major Indian cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and others - such as unplanned waste dumping and continuous disregard for natural recharge structures like ponds, wetlands, and tanks. In fact, any city beset with unplanned development and mindless construction faces the same fate as Bengaluru.
