[Music] India Silicon Valley, Bengaluru was left submerged once again. This time after receiving 130 mm of rain in just a few hours, the second highest in a decade. Streets turned into rivers and traffic came to a halt. Homes in low-lying areas like CR Mangala and HSR layout were flooded. BMTC buses were pulled off the roads and electricity outages hit several localities. The city home to global tech giants and billiondoll startups was paralyzed by rain once again. A total of three rain related deaths in Bengaluru and two in other parts of Karnataka were reported. As images of flooded streets and submerged vehicles went viral, public outrage followed swiftly. It has been a nightmare. Going to office, commuting to office and home has become like a you know big uh uh you know task for us here. There the main thing is here for the whatever the rain water comes there is no drainage. So even any you can see here you where you have you know water flowing but there is no outlet to go. Former Infosys CFO Moha Spy took to social media to lash out at the government after spending rupees 1 lakh KR on freebies in 2 years. What did we get a complete collapse? He said tagging both the chief minister and the deputy chief minister. But the sharpest and perhaps the most important critique came from Zoho founder Shrihar Wimbu. His message wasn’t just about potholes or drains. It was about the bigger picture. We cannot build great cities when we have a vast rural population desperate to migrate. He wrote argues that Bengaluru’s problems can’t be fixed within city limits. The root cause he says lies in rural India where joblessness, poor industrial development and heavy reliance on cash transfer schemes fuel large-scale migration to cities like Bengaluru. This migration, he says, overwhelms urban infrastructure, strains resources, and traps governments into short-term political fixes. Rural India, despite having labor, continues to import goods made in China, paid for by exporting IT services to the west. It’s an unsustainable loop. VMU’s frustration also found in echo in the startup world. Dilipkumar from rain matter Zerodha’s venture arm wrote that we have got AI to detect cancer, drones to deliver biryani and apps to schedule pet meditation but we can’t build a working drainage system. The disconnect between India’s technological ambition and its civic reality has never been more stark. Deputy Chief Minister DK Shiffkumar responded saying that officials are on ground and that Bengaluru’s pride will be restored. But the question remains, can the city fix its systemic issues before the next downpour? The India meteorological department issued an orange alert warning that more rain is expected through May 25th. A rare storm pattern, thunder clouds moving from west to east has been observed. And the cyclonic circulation forming over the east central Arabian Sea, heavy rains and wind speeds of up to 60 km per hour are predicted across 23 districts. [Applause] [Music]