BENGALURU: A long, hard spell of rain on Monday, measuring 44.2 mm, once again exposed the shoddy infrastructure of the city. Even areas where top leaders of the state reside were not spared the fury of the rain. Fallen trees blocked the lane in front of Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s official residence on Race Course Road, while severe waterlogging was reported near Industries Minister Murugesh Nirani’s residence at Seven Ministers Quarters.
Roads were inundated near Vidhana Soudha, where the current monsoon session is being held. The Soudha’s portico had at least 1ft of standing water, which had to be bailed out by housekeeping staff.
Waterlogging was also reported from the BBMP head office, Corporation Circle, Vasanth Nagar, Richmond Town, Anil Kumble Circle and Ejipura quarters.
Rain for next 5 days
India Meteorological Department (IMD) director-in-charge, Bengaluru, Geeta Agnihotri said that heavy rain is forecast for a day, and light to moderate rainfall will occur in most southern districts of the state over the the next five days.
“The rainfall is caused by the formation of a cyclonic circulation over north Tamil Nadu and neighbourhood at 1.5km above mean sea level. There is also a trough from south-interior Karnataka to Comorin area, across Tamil Nadu, at 0.9km above mean sea level,” she said. Geeta said these are South West monsoon showers. The North East monsoon is expected to start from October 20. “This year, the monsoon has been active without any break cycles,” she added.
Carbon in urban areas
Another IMD official explained that normally, heavy rainfall occurs in most parts of the region in September, and this trend has been noticed for 10 to 12 years. MB Rajegowda, a weather expert, said the intensity of rainfall is more in urban areas because of the high concentration of carbon in the atmosphere. “There was a rise in temperature over the past 10-15 days due to a break in the monsoon. The shift in peak monsoon from October to September is good as it helps the crop cycle. In urban areas, it recharges the groundwater table,” he added.