Bengaluru all rained out

Bengaluru all rained out
The BBMP was once again caught napping when a sudden dow- npour lashed the city. Amit S. Upadhye does a damage assessment
Bengaluru


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It was nothing short of misery for people in Bengaluru who were caught in the heavy downpour that lashed the city on Tuesday night.

The worst affected were those who were returning home late in the night from work places and residents living in low-lying areas.

Trees, already being axed, to make way for wider roads were not spared either. Nearly 20 trees were uprooted in different parts of the city in Tuesday’s rains.

The weather station at the Meteorological Department on Palace Road recorded 63.8 rainfall till 8.30 am on Tuesday and HAL station recorded 30.6 mm rainfall.

Not just roads, even control rooms of various government agencies were flooded, especially the BBMP. Officials said Sarathi squads were pressed into service in areas where water had gushed into hous es. At Anepalya the retaining wall of a drain collapsed while the wall at Hotel Geo in Sampangiramnagar crashed. A majority of the complaints were registered from Sanjaynagar, Koramangala, Vivek Nagar, Konanakunte Cross on Kanakapura Road, Anepalya and Sampangiramnagar.

Officials said since it rained at night, uprooted trees did not cause much damage. Trees fell across the city especially in areas near Ashoka Pillar in Jayanagar, Maharani’s College, BTM layout, Maruthinagar, Elchanahalli near Poorna Prgjna school in Shankarpuram and Kadugondanahalli.

“We had to dial for nearly half-an-hour to reach the control rooms. During monsoon, authorities must deploy squads in advance in different parts of the city,” said Roopesh Dhawan, from Koramangala.

In many areas, residents had to pump water out.

Many apartments in HSR Layout, Sampangiramnagar and HBR Layout had knee deep water in the basement.

With rain continuing unabated well after midnight, it was time for creepy crawlies to sneak inside residences. The BBMP’s forest cell rescued three baby cobras, each from Hesaraghatta road, Kumaraswamy Layout and Whitefield.

Faulty transformers forced residents of Rajajinagar and Basaveshwaranagar to experience additional load shedding.