Heavy rain: CM Bommai announces Rs 5 lakh as compensation for family of deceased
Bengaluru(PTI): With the city recording heavy rainfall overnight, flooding streets and houses in several parts, and two deaths being reported, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday announced a compensation of Rs five lakh to the family of the deceased and Rs 25,000 each to those whose houses have been affected.
He ordered completion of work relating to stormwater drains, along with secondary and tertiary drains, in several wards of the city at the earliest, besides clearing of encroachments and bottlenecks affecting the flow of rainwater.
"For two days, there have been continuous rain at several places (in the city) and there have been over 100 mm rainfall, inundating several low-lying areas. I have already spoken to the Commissioner (BBMP) and engineers and have put the taskforce, home guards and SDRF to work to de-clog and pump the water out," Bommai said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said the Commissioner would be monitoring the work and the directions have been issued to set up a control room.
"As rain is expected to continue for the next two-three days, directions have been given to take precautionary measures, especially in low-lying areas....preparations were made for the rainy season and drains cleaned, but there are some geographical reasons too: Bengaluru cannot hold even 90 mm rains; adding to that gas line, water and cable work is on," he added.
The Chief Minister visited rain-battered areas of Hosakerehalli, Dattatreya Nagara, Rajarajeshwari Nagar and nearby areas and took stock of the situation.
Noting that he has got information about two deaths in Ullala, Bommai said Rs five lakh would be given to the bereaved family on behalf of the government; Rs 25,000 for those whose houses were submerged and arrangements would be made for their food and other basic needs, he said.
Stating that the geographical terrain of Bengaluru, construction of houses on the banks of stormwater drains were some of the reasons of flooding, Bommai said the solution lay in the completion of ongoing work that also involves connected the drain to outside of the city for the water to flow out.
"We have identified the bottlenecks and they will be cleared within this year; Rs 1,600 crore has been provided for it. There are also some low-lying areas where secondary and tertiary drains work are being taken up. Within one or 1.5 years, we will see to it that they are done," he said.
In Bengaluru underground drainage, water supply, gas pipeline, telecom cable, electrical underground cable and several other works are on, so there are certain issues. It has been decided to constitute a taskforce to ensure road-work is taken up after all other work is completed.
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
