Memories of the flash floods in Bangalore in July 2016 and inundation of low-lying areas in August and September last year are still fresh. At a time when pre-monsoon showers are flooding the city, civic agencies are underprepared to tackle the issue...yet again. Over the past few weeks several areas of Bengaluru have been suffering power outage. The Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) has identified 246 low-lying areas where even a brief spell of rain sees flood water entering homes(1). This has been handed to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) andso far the action taken is fairly limited. Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister G Parameshwara had set the deadline for end of May to finish all preparatory work for the monsoon(2) --the work is yet to be completed and Bengaluru struggles with the chaos of the aftermath of pre-monsoon showers. Accumulated silt causes clogging of the stormwater drains and results in flooding in low-lying areas. Currently, less than one-third of stormwater drains have been cleared(3). It is imperative that the entire 842 km stretch of stormwater drains are de-silted and encroachment over drains are taken care of before the beginning of monsoon season. Additionally, KSNDMC also suggested the installation of water sensors in all 246 vulnerable spots and so far only 25 water sensors have been installed(3). This needs to be done as soon as possible for better mitigation of stormwater accumulation in the city. Waterlogging in Bangalore results in the city coming to a standstill and we cannot let this happen year after year. It is time that Bangalore city council and BBMP are held accountable and the city is better prepared to tackle heavy rainfall. Sources 1. https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/dy-cm-reviews-bbmps-rain-preparedness/article26934179.ece 2. https://www.deccanherald.com/city/bengaluru-infrastructure/are-civic-agencies-complacent-about-monsoon-733247.html 3.https://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/bangalore/civic/bbmp-scrambles-to-get-city-rain-ready/articleshow/69151326.cms

UPDATE: June 25, 2019 The current water crisis in Tamil Nadu is a wake-up call. Nearly two lakh cattle in the state have been reported dead for want of water. Acute water shortage is a reality in many Indian towns, and the crisis is now reaching mega cities. The UK, France, Canada and Ireland have formally recognised a climate crisis. Sydney's council recently declared an emergency too! It's time the Indian Government follows suit and declares a National Climate Emergency. Context: Inspired by Swedish student and climate change activist Greta Thunberg, lakhs of students and youth across continents went on a climate strike in March '19, demanding urgent climate action from their national governments. India is a signatory to the historic Paris Agreement, an international treaty to combat climate change and limit rise in global temperatures through Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC). The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Special Report has sounded an undeniable warning call to nations to collectively limit the rise in global average temperatures to well under 1.5°C. [2] - India’s INDC has yet not fulfilled the commitment of renewable energy generation. - Thermal power plant companies missed the 2017 deadline to reduce emissions (now extended to 2022), - The government has now commissioned more plants resulting in a 1.4% parallel rise in emissions - Funds from the National Clean Energy Fund was improperly diverted making them unavailable for clean energy initiatives. -The INDC also aims to create an additional carbon sink by increasing forest and tree cover by 2030 yet the decades-old national target of 33% forest cover has not been met under successive forest related policies. - Hasdeo Arand is one of the largest, continuous stretches of very dense forest in Central India. Once declared a no-go area, has now been given environmental clearance to expand the coal mining.[5] Air pollution and climate change are fundamentally inter-linked! There is an immediate need for India to phase out fossil fuels through an efficient exit strategy and supply all energy demands through renewable energy. It is hereby demanded that a National Climate Emergency be declared to bring climate justice to the forefront of national policy agenda. This can be done through strict implementation of India’s international and national obligations under the Paris Agreement to attain the IPCC goals. Join the global movement for climate justice. Let’s act now before it is too late to save our planet. References: https://fridaysforfuture.org/ https://www.ipcc.ch/2018/10/08/summary-for-policymakers-of-ipcc-special-report-on-global-warming-of-1-5c-approved-by-governments/ https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/india-commissions-more-thermal-power-plants-despite-pollution-concerns/story-SLb6uQTD2q3KnR3XLbwoPJ.html http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=128403 https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/centre-s-nod-for-mining-in-170khectares-of-forest/story-F60Pb7W8ybegHntaQ9YBwK.html