Rain throws traffic out of gear

Rain throws traffic out of gear
DH News Service, Bangalore:
For many, it it was a welcome shower on Sunday night. But for several others, it was living hell.


The nightmare of people living in low-lying areas began when water gushed into their houses, damaged electronic goods and submerged their cars. Due to the heavy downpour, four houses at Lakshminarayanapura in Srirampura collapsed. No casualty was reported.

However Barkath of Halasur was not fortunate enough. The 34-year-old was swept away, and police are still trying to trace him.

BIAL road

People rushing to catch their flight fretted, as the road to Bengaluru International Airport was choc-a-block near the CBI junction, where an underpass is being constructed. The water logging only made the problem worse; hundreds of vehicles were stranded because there was little space left for vehicular movement.

By 8 am, there was a huge queue of vehicles for nearly one kilometre on both sides of the road. Traffic police blocked CBI junction and routed the vehicles towards Mekhri circle. The stranded vehicles could not change course immediately. BWSSB and BBMP officials rushed to the spot and drained out the stagnant water by 11 am.

Cox Town

Residents of Bangalore East faced the problem of water-logging. In Cox Town, the rain water entered several houses. Six cars were submerged under seven feet of water in an apartment complex. With the sudden and heavy downpour leading to water logging, residents had no information on whom to contact for help. People complained that when they tried to contact the BBMP control room, there was no one to receive the call.

Padmanabhan Kumar, a bank employee and resident of Green Meadows Apartments, said the basement had six cars parked, all of which were submerged under seven feet water. “The BBMP directed us to contact the fire services for water logging. However, the team sent by fire service were of little help. Hence we had to hire a private agency to pump the water out,” he explained.

The unscheduled power cuts and lack of response from the authorities for the water logging problem combined to give the residents a horrific Sunday night. “The Apartment has many children, and our concern was that the stagnant rain water would have become a source of disease outbreak. Hence, we had to take immediate measures, knowing that waiting for help from officials would be in vain.”

Wall collapses

Sunday’s rain gave the final thrust to the badly cracked wall of a storm-water drain behind the Satellite bus stop on Mysore Road. The wall collapsed. However, houses located a few distance away from the wall remained safe.