BENGALURU: Fed up with unresponsive civic agencies and the continuous downpour creating numerous problems, residents in several localities have resorted to clearing water-logging by themselves. On Thursday and Friday, there were numerous reports of water logging on roads, trees falling and buildings collapsing across the city.
On a residential street off Basavanapura Main Road, flooding was almost up to knee level. Residents had to wade through water before the blockage was finally cleared. Though a complaint was made to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the residents dealt with the flooding themselves.
"Some of us, including a local fruit vendor, cleared the drains. Due to the flooding and rain, it had gotten blocked with soil and rocks, which caused more flooding," said Nishanth G, a resident of Basavanapura. No one had come from BBMP to check on the flooding, though a complaint was lodged, he said.
Heavy flooding was also witnessed at Junnisandra and Green Villa Layout in Mahadevapura, where sewage regularly overflows. Apartments like Rainbow Drive in Bellandur and Kendriya Vihar in Yelahanka were also inundated, with people wading through nearly waist-deep water.
Similarly, other reports of water logging were lodged all across the city, from Dasarahalli, where Mallasandra Lake was reported to have overflowed, to Hulimavu, where a massive traffic jam occurred next to the Hulimavu metro station construction site.
There was heavy flooding in areas like Hulimavu, KR Puram and Marathahalli. "There was a lot of flooding next to the Marathahalli underpass, ITI and Tin Factory, making it very difficult to drive," said Nishanth.
In addition to Marathahalli underpass, the KR Puram underpass was also completely flooded. Near Hulimavu on Bannerghatta Road, roads were waterlogged from Thursday night well into Friday and water overflowed into Arekere Lake.
Blockages in storm water drains near RMZ Ecospace, Bellandur, were cleared to allow water to flow. Despite this, the water reportedly flooded on to Bellandur Gate Road. BBMP Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta visited the site where a building had collapsed on Milkman Street in Halasuru on Friday.
The 58-year-old two-storeyed building collapsed due to incessant rain, but no casualties were reported. "I have instructed officials to demolish two buildings in the vicinity that are in a dilapidated condition," he announced on social media.
Two trees fell near RT Nagar and Trinity Circle on Friday. There were several reports of compound walls and dilapidated house walls collapsing in Nandini Layout, Panduranga Nagar, RR Nagar, Mahalakshmipuram Layout and Subramanya Layout.
A mud hut also reportedly collapsed in Herohalli. Water-logging complaints also came from several other places in Mahadevapura as well as Chalavadipalya.