Rain puts City in mess

Rain puts City in mess
DH News Service, Bangalore:
For the Bangaloreans eager to get out of the City for an extended three-day holiday, a heavy downpour and gridlocked roads spelled disaster on Thursday evening.


But no respite was in store for those who preferred to stay back either, as the saga of flooded roads, blocked drains, falling trees and power cuts continued to wreck havoc across the town.

It was virtual hell out there on the traffic-choked streets. Eager to reach the City railway station and bus station, thousands were stuck on the roads. Water-logged streets meant vehicular speeds were reduced to a crawl. As if these weren’t troublesome enough, trees came crashing down in many areas. Drains kept overflowing, to trap the motorists in all chaos.

Water rushed into many low-lying areas. Parts of the City were plunged into darkness, thanks to power cuts. Most of the important junctions had virtually come to a standstill.

CM stuck in jam

An ambulance stuck on JC Road at about 9.20 pm could move only 800 metres in the next 40 minutes. Even Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa was stuck in a traffic jam for nearly an hour.

Branches of trees lay torn down, basements were flooded, motorists struggled to differentiate between road and drain. The scene was similar across the City.

Several arterial roads, including Vittal Mallya Road, Mehkri Circle, Bannerghatta Road and Hosur Road were water-logged. The KH Double Road bus stand was particularly messy with a huge traffic jam. Lalbagh Circle, was completely under water due to clogging of drains.

The subway near the City railway station was reduced to a virtual lake due to water-logging. The rain fury also hit upmarket areas such as Indiranagar, besides Puttenahalli, Kammanahalli and DJ Halli.

Traffic was choked near Silk Board Junction, Hosur Road, Airport Road, Shivajinagar, Seshadripuram, Ma-lleswaram, City Market and Subhashnagar bus stand. Vehicles moved at snail’s pace on most of the roads in and around Majestic area, KR Puram, Yeshwanthpura, near Hebbal flyover, RT Nagar and on Mysore Road.

More rains expected

The City recorded 53.5 mm of rainfall till 11.30 pm, while the Airport received 56.2 mm of rainfall. According to the Meteorological Department, weather in the City on Friday will be cloudy and heavy rainfall is expected for the next three days.