GBA plans new drains to prevent flooding near Manyata Tech Park ahead of next year’s monsoon

The Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) has begun preparations ahead of the next monsoon to prevent flooding in and around Manyata Tech Park.

The North Corporation in the GBA limits has proposed building a new storm-water drain and restoring another one that was earlier encroached upon. The cost of these works, officials said, must be covered by the tech park management and companies located along the stretch.

A meeting will be held this week with representatives from the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB), Revenue Department, and the tech park management to plan the work, officials added.

Officials explained that the flooding problem around the tech park is not new and that it has continued for years because the original storm-water drain that once carried rainwater through the area no longer exists.

The land through which the drain used to flow was later classified as ‘B kharab’ (government land unsuitable for cultivation) and was allotted to several private owners over time. But those allotments included the very path where the drain once ran, which has now been built over.

As a result, the natural flow of rainwater has been cut off, and stormwater has no route to reach the main drain downstream. The officials from the KIADB, the Revenue Department, and the GBA found that most existing drains near the tech park are either blocked or disconnected, leading to flooding during even moderate rainfall. If left unaddressed, they warned, the situation could become dangerous during heavy rains.

To resolve this, all the departments involved have decided to carry out a joint field inspection and prepare a technical report on how to restore the drainage system. As per the suggestions from the Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority, the area and the route where a new drain can be built to connect it back to the main channel have been identified.

Authorities are considering constructing two parallel drains- one along the original alignment and another supplementary line in opposite direction- to handle excess rainwater during peak monsoon spells.

The process has faced some resistance from two of the private companies in the tech park, who have expressed concerns about construction inside their campuses and the potential impact on existing facilities, the GBA officials told The Hindu, adding that a meeting will be conducted to reach a solution that balances both infrastructure safety and property concerns.

The officials stressed that they will build the drains in a scientific manner and that the work finishes before May 2026, as the current system leaves no path for free storm-water flow, making the area highly flood-prone.