When it poured misery through the night

When it poured misery through the night
Vehicles stuck on waterlogged roads. A wall collapse flattens five cars. Trees crash. Power cuts. This was what the city went through after Tuesday night’s downpour. Times City reports
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bangalore: Being stranded on the road early in the morning is guaranteed to leave you in a bad mood for the rest of the day. More so if it happens when you’re on the way to the airport. That’s when it becomes truly painful. This was the norm on Wednesday morning on Bellary Road. A fallout of the 66.2 mm torrential rain on Tuesday night which dumped misery all over the city. The underpass work near CBI Junction was waterlogged and left commuters stranded for hours.
Waterlogging caused soil erosion near the junction and the place was in a mess. The police stopped vehicle movement for a while and traffic was piled up till the Mehkri Circle for about 90 minutes. Commuters heading to the airport waited helplessly for the vehicles to move.
The rain fury also damaged the Vidyapeetha mutt wall which collapsed and damaged more than five new vehicles parked there. The vehicles were completely crushed due to the impact. Several trees also crashed near MG Road, Koramangala, RT Nagar and Basavanagudi and were cleared away by BBMP personnel.
Commuters had to brave roads which had virtually become ponds and water blocked entire stretches of roads in low-lying areas. Late-night travellers who were caught in the rain had to gingerly navigate through waterlogged roads to reach home. Several areas were inundated due to the intense rain.
The situation in many parts of the city around 11.30 pm told the sorry state of roads with many cars stranded as water seeped into their engines. The Urvashi theatre road was waterlogged till the pavement level and four-wheelers too found it excruciating to drive through the flooded waters. “There was no choice. Either we had to stop the car or give full throttle and make way. A second’s indecision could result in water entering the engine and the vehicle getting stranded. Since we are acquainted with the road, we can drive, but still it’s very dangerous,’’ said a few cab drivers who were ferrying employees working on late-night shifts.
The Sirsi Circle flyover too was flooded at the centre, forcing vehicles to stop midway. Worse, the approach to the up and down ramps was also waterlogged, making it difficult for the vehicles to enter and exit the flyover. In Shivajinagar, Sahakaranagar JJ Nagar and several other areas, water entered homes and forced residents to stay awake the whole night to clear the mess.
A resident of Sahakaranagar, Karkeda said that although the problem of waterlogging was there for some time now, no action has been taken. Due to the excess water flowing in the shoulder drains, water enters the houses. In Shivajinagar, several houses and eateries were inundated.
Several areas like Shanthinagar, Hosur Road, Old Madras Road, Bannerghatta Road, Palmgrove Road near The Forum mall, Lavelle Road Junction, Koramangala 4th Block, Madiwala, HSR Layout, Jayanagar 3rd Block near Madhavan Park were completely waterlogged.
Power failure: The rain also caused power outage in several areas like Hanumanthnagar, Vidyapeetha, Ejipura, Kundalahalli, JP Nagar, New Gurappanapalya and Frazer Town. Some areas in Hebbal, Chamarajpet and Neelasandra had power cuts on Tuesday night.
Rain fury continues: Rain fury continued on Wednesday night, throwing life out of gear again. Several roads were waterlogged and low-lying areas were inundated. Trees crashed in Vijayanagar, Basaveshwaranagar and Banashankari 2nd Stage. Many areas witnessed power outages late in the night.