BENGALURU: Heavy rain lashed Bengaluru on Sunday inundating low-lying areas and crippling normal life. Rainwater gushed into many houses while in some areas, sewage made its way into drinking water pipelines making the water unpotable.
More misery is in store as the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted heavy rain in the next 48 hours. According to IMD, the rainfall was 10.9 mm in the city on Sunday night, while it was 55.6 mm at HAL and 22.2 mm at BIAL.
As rain pounded the city, water gushed into hundreds of houses at 40 different places, according to the BBMP Control Room staff. They said teams have fanned out to various areas to pump out water from houses. However, residents complained that Palike officials and elected representatives did not turn up to see the havoc the rain had caused.
Water entered 14 houses in Yelahanka, six in Mahadevapura, seven in East zone, two each in West zone, Rajarajeshwari Nagar and Bommanahalli. Another area that suffered was T Dasarahalli.
Chandrashekar, a private firm employee and a resident of Chokkasandra ward in T Dasarahalli told Express that his family did not sleep on Sunday night as they were busy removing water from their house.
He said the BBMP is developing a park near Dasarahalli lake. In the process, the civic body surrounded the lake with a mesh to keep out plastic and other waste. However, the rainwater carried with it many plastic bags, blocking the mesh and preventing water from entering the lake. As a result, the water has flooded houses in the area.
Mayor Blames Encroachers
Mayor Manjunath Reddy blamed people of encroaching stormwater drains in the city. He said encroachment was the reason behind blocked drains and subsequent flooding. He said he was hard at work on Sunday, making phone calls till 2 am. “I have directed all zonal commissioners and chief engineers to look out for rain-related problems,” he said.
The Pothole Problem
District in-charge Minister Ramalinga Reddy told reporters that due to the rain, officials are unable to fill potholes.
13 Trees Fall: The BBMP Control room received seven complaints of fallen trees in East zone, followed by three in South, one each in West, Dasarahalli and Bommanahalli zones.