Overflowing lakes inundate several areas as rain continues in Bangalore

Overflowing lakes inundate several areas as rain continues in Bangalore

The Hindu

Incessant rain lashes city through Saturday night; low-lying areas badly hit



WATER WOES: A view of the flooded HSR Layout in Bangalore on Sunday. — Photo: K. Murali Kumar

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BANGALORE: Sunday turned out to be a nightmare for most Bangaloreans as lakes overflowed inundating several areas on both sides of the Outer Ring Road following Saturday night's incessant rain. Waterlogged roads brought the city's traffic to a halt.

Fire Services personnel rescued over 1,000 people either by using boats or ropes in Mangammanapalya and HSR Layout (off Hosur Road) while the Madras Engineer Group and Home Guards were called in by evening.

Residents of these areas said overflowing water from the Begur ad Madivala lakes reached almost up to the first floor of their buildings and they had go to their terraces while waiting for help.

Elsewhere, the Nayandahalli Lake breached around 1 a.m. and water gushed into the nearby areas.

In HSR Layout, Mangammanapalya, Begur and Bommasandra, the water level receded only in the afternoon today. Yet many houses remained in knee-deep to waist-deep waters forcing residents to remain indoors. Overflowing water from Puttenahalli Lake inundated several low-lying areas in the vicinity.

Water that entered Hosur Road Telephone Exchange left over 7,500 telephone lines dead in the areas serviced by it.

Advice to people

When it started raining in the evening, it had people and the officials worried. The Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic-East), M.A. Saleem, said that traffic problems on Hosur Road could worsen on Monday if it continued to rain. He has suggested that people leave home early to reach their destination in time. He has suggested they should use alternative routes such as Bannerghatta Road and Meenakshi Temple Road.

The Joint Director, Fire Services, B.G. Chengappa, said his men rescued about 250 people with the help of boats at Mangammanapalya and near Oxford Engineering College on Hosur Road in the morning. At several other places, firemen helped people to safety using ropes.

He said water was flowing up to a height of two feet at a few places on Hosur Road. Vehicles were stranded for several hours on the road.

Protest

People from Mangammanapalya and Bommasandra blocked the roads in protest against the "failure" of the officials to come to their rescue. A police official, who was trying to help people at H.S.R. Layout, said, "We had to use force to disperse them."

With the retainer wall of the Vrushabhavathi Valley (along Mysore Road) caving in at many places, water from it flooded many parts of Mysore Road and brought vehicular traffic to a halt.

Those who came out to buy essentials in HSR Layout had a bad experience. Venugopal of Sector 7, who ventured out on a scooter, had to push his vehicle for about 200 metres as water entered its engine and the scooter stopped.

Autorickshaws, cars and even bigger vehicles suffered breakdowns because of water-logging at many places. Incidents of people expressing anger against the failure of the Government and Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) at these places were common.

Though there were no reports of casualties, Mr. Chengappa, said they could not be ruled out. There has been no missing complaint so far, he said. Earthmoving machines were also pressed into service but it was not of much avail.

Chief Minister calls meeting

Our Bangalore Special Correspondent reports:

Chief Minister N. Dharam Singh has convened a meeting of senior officials connected with the Bangalore Development Authority, the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike and other agencies here on Monday to discuss the havoc caused by heavy rain. MPs and legislators from the city will attend the meeting to be held at the Vidhana Soudha.

Mr. Dharam Singh has also directed the Deputy Commissioners of the districts to inspect the areas devastated by rain.

Mr. Dharam Singh has told Bangalore Mayor Narayanaswamy and the officials to consider shifting the people living in low-lying areas to other places on a permanent basis. Funds should not pose a problem to relief and rehabilitation works, he told the Mayor.

Mr. Dharam Singh also instructed the Minister in-charge of the city, R. Ramalinga Reddy, to visit the affected areas such as Puttenahalli, Bommanahalli, Kodigehalli, Krishnarajapuram and Nayandahalli and decide on the measures to be taken.

More rain likely

As it is likely to rain for the next 48 hours, the city may have to brace up for a grimmer situation. The city police have warned that the traffic situation is likely to worsen on Monday.

According to the Meteorological Department, the city received 12 cm of rain on Saturday night, the highest rain in a day this year.

The department director, Anand L. Koppar, told The Hindu that it would continue to rain on Monday.

This was because the "southern peninsula is in the grip of cyclonic circulation and there is a lot of moisture... ," he said and added that this was associated with a low-pressure system moving westwards across Tamil Nadu, south interior Karnataka and Kerala.