Koramangala

Shalini Modi

Wary of downpour, residents of4th Block are buying boats so they can move to safety next time it rainsThey own some of the swankiest vehicles in the town, yet some Bengalureans are going in for a different kind of vehicle — a watercraft aka boat.Fed up and frustrated with the recent downpours and the subsequent flooding, Dr, a resident of Koramangala 4th Block, managed to bring home a three-seater rowboat last week — to be used by her family and her neighbours — in a crisis situation. She should know. Her lane — 5th cross, 8th A Main Road — is one of the worst affected during the recent rains. Sewage water entered homes and it took more than 24 hours for the flooded waters on the streets to recede.Stranded at home the day after rains and waiting for help, with children bunking schools and the elderly not able to move out even during medical emergency, Shalini, a pathologist, got the deflatable boat from a friend who is into adventure sports. And with the fickle weather, it did come handy: in the following days, it rained heavily and as usual, the lane and houses got flooded. Her children, who would have otherwise got stranded at home, used the boat to attend their tuitions.The good Samaritan she is, Shalini has spread the word in the neighbourhood that a “boat is available on call” instead of waiting for the fire personnel team to arrive and press their boats into action.Koramangala 4th Block, an upscale area, is one of the worst flooded during rains — as it is low lying and bears the cascading effect of the drain flowing through the 80 feet road, resulting in sewage overflow. “Whenever it rains, it’s hell out here. But life cannot come to a standstill and we have to move on instead of waiting for the stagnated water to dry up. Recently, children who could not afford to miss exams, carried an extra set of clothes, waded through muddy waters, changed in the school and wrote their exams. We have senior citizens in the colony who need to go out. I have a special child who has to be taken to the classes. It is very stressful for us and we had to find a way. My friend, who is into adventure sports, offered the boat. Soon, it rained and my children used the boat to attend their classes. I have spread the word around among neighbours to make use of the boat,” Shalini, a resident of the area for 21 years, told Bangalore Mirror.Rains have literally brought Koramangala 4th Block to the ground as its real estate stakes has gone for a toss after constant flooding. Rentals in the area too have dipped. If the same situation continues, experts warn that property prices may even crash in the coming months. For residents, expenses too have shot up as they have to hire the services of sump cleaners to pump out the dirty mess from tanks. “Just a spell of rain and we end up paying anywhere between Rs 900 and Rs 1,500 to sump cleaners per cleaning. We are paying through our nose and the infrastructure is just crumbling day by day,” laments Shalini.