Bengaluru drowns, CM Bommai yet to start city rounds

By Shyam Sundar Vattam | NT

Bengaluru: Where is the CM? And where are his ministers? This is the question almost every citizen of Bengaluru is asking with the IT City caught in the grip of incessant rains and those supposed to address people’s woes or at least give them hope, nowhere in sight.

Chief Minister Bommai did make a cursory anouncement on Sunday that he would be making his city rounds soon but most people seem to have resigned themselves to their fate of living in a city dotted with poholes, flooded streets and overflowing drains. They lament that the CM seems to be least interested in improving the state of affairs in the state capital despite unseasonal rains causing havoc in the last ten days.

With rain water surrounding their apartment complexes and individual houses, hundreds of people have been hit hard and are disconnected from the rest of the world. Residents were now forced to travel in rubber boats, tractors and depend on food arranged by Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) with no power supply and drinking water.

Bommai finally held his first meeting of officers last Friday to assess the damage caused by rains. But he did not address the media citing the model code of conduct in place with the elections to 25 MLC seats due on December 10. The media has no information about the steps taken by the government to mitigate the problems of the rain-hit.

Ten days ago, Bommai announced the auditing of city roads but that is yet to begin posing a big question whether a powerful lobby has ensured the proposal is put on the back burner. Taking the CM to task for ‘neglecting’ Bengaluru City, former minister and BTM Layout Congress MLA R Ramalinga Reddy said nothing bars the CM from announcing relief measures in case of a natural calamity by taking permission from the Election Commission. He can announce relief measures without making public any new schemes, Reddy said.

He said Bommai has nothing to show by way of achievements as the BJP government in the last two years has not released a single paise and has been continuing works started during Congress rule. Voters of Bengaluru will teach the BJP a lesson in the 2023 Assembly polls, he added.