Traffic hit as roads become drains following heavy rain

Traffic hit as roads become drains following heavy rain

Staff Reporter

Water logging in several areas proves BBMP claim wrong

# 9.2 mm rain recorded till 8.30 p.m.
# Traffic disrupted for over an hour on Lal Bagh Road


BANGALORE: As it rained heavily in Bangalore on Sunday again, traffic was affected as several roads turned into storm water drains exposing the claims of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) about its monsoon preparedness.

BBMP Commissioner K. Jairaj said on Saturday that more than 70 per cent of monsoon-related drainage works has been completed. He said that there would be no more water logging.

However, the situation was otherwise and the roads submerged in rainwater, though only 9.2 mm of rainfall was recorded till 8.30 p.m.

Vehicles piled up for more than an hour from Mission Road Junction till the Lal Bagh Main Gate on Lal Bagh Road, Hosur Road, Mysore Road, Kanakanapalya, Ruby Junction on Bannerghatta Road and surrounding areas due to water logging.

Traffic was also affected near Vidya Peetha Circle and Hanumanthanagar for a considerable length of time.

A tree fell on Primrose Road, off Mahatma Gandhi Road, obstructing traffic, while another tree that fell near Garuda Mall, also brought traffic to a halt.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic-East) Madhukar Shetty told The Hindu that as the volume of traffic was less (as it was a Sunday), the impact of rain was relatively less.

The fully covered shoulder-drains of arterial roads and lack of adequate inlets into these drains from the roads are the main reasons for roads getting flooded.



RAIN WOES: (Top) Bangalore Electricity Supply Company personnel clearing cables after a tree fell on Primrose Road in Bangalore on Sunday and (above) slow moving traffic on one of the city roads. — Photos: Sampath Kumar G.P.

At many places, rainwater was gushing out from manholes.

The problem of water logging on Lal Bagh Road seems to be never-ending, as even a little spell of rain makes the road unfit for motoring. Similarly, the stretch of Mysore Road near the Rajarajeshwari Nagar Gate, Ring Road Junction near Nayandahalli and Ghali Anjaneya Temple get inundated whenever it rains.

Mr. Jairaj was present at the BBMP Control Room to monitor distress calls and direct officials to attend to emergencies.

He said the Control Room got more than 30 calls about water logging and water entering houses in the low-lying areas.

Houses flooded

Rainwater entered houses in low-lying areas such as 7th Cross, Sudhamanagar (near Urvashi cinema), Journalists' Colony (off J.C. Road), Bantappa Colony near Byappanahalli, Bhavaninagar in Banashankari III Stage and Yarabnagar in Banashankari II Stage according to BBMP Control Room personnel.

The BBMP rushed its personnel to restore normality in these areas.

The tree in front of the Central Bureau of Investigation office on Bellary Road fell around 8 p.m. leaving traffic affected for more than three hours on the road.

However, there were no casualties.

Traffic was restored after BBMP personnel removed the tree.