After persistent rain in Bengaluru resulted in the collapse of a retaining wall on the Vrishabhavathi river along Mysore Road near Mylasandra on Thursday, civic officials closed the west lane of the road to carry out repair work.
Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) issued orders to engineers to prevent mishaps on the road after the collapse of the wall. The orders were issued after BBMP Commissioner BH Anil Kumar and BBMP Mayor M Goutham Kumar inspected the site on Friday.
The road was closed up to one kilometre in the area along the river to ensure that there are no traffic mishaps. "The westward lane was closed for repair work. To ensure there is no more damage, sandbags have been placed and barricades have been erected," BBMP Mayor Goutham Kumar told reporters.
The water level in the Vrishabhavathi river had risen by 3-4 feet, which increased the pressure on the retaining wall, BBMP Commissioner BH Anil Kumar said.
Around 130 to 140 metres length of the wall was washed away by persistent rain in Kengeri, which recorded 185 mm of rainfall. According to Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) director Srinivas Reddy, Kengeri received the most rainfall in Bengaluru.
An enquiry is underway to ascertain what led to the collapse of the retaining wall and to detail the work done and funds spent by the BBMP on the retaining wall. The details will be submitted to the state government.
The stormwater drains across the city will be reviewed following the incident. With the monsoon season set to be active for at least two more months, BBMP is hoping that there are no more untoward incidents.
A portion of Mysore Road, just before Kengeri, which was laid 1.5 yrs ago was washed away during yesterday's rain.@AAPBangalore Rajarajeshwari nagar Assembly President @rathod_aap and his team filed a complaint with BMTF ADGP against contractors & BBMP Engineers #SaveBengaluru pic.twitter.com/OCOOBpJsyq
— Prithvi Reddy (@aapkaprithvi) June 26, 2020