BENGALURU: The floods spared no one -- not the pourakarmikas in their sheds, nor the CEOs in their posh villas. For the second consecutive day, residents of these high-end properties remained stranded and had to be ferried out in dinghies and tractors.
Residents of the apartments and villas, some of them costing up to Rs 13 crore each, blamed the BBMP for the deluge.
However, these are the same apartment and villa complexes which were listed for demolition as they have encroached on culverts of water bodies.
As a warning, BBMP deployed earthmovers at Divyashree and Epsilon apartments to break the slabs blocking the drains.
“About 500 feet of slabs were removed from Divyashree apartment complex, and 20 feet of encroachment was removed at Epsilon residential villas in Yamalur. The situation has improved now,” said Dr Trilok Chandra, Special Commissioner, Mahadevapura Zone, who was deployed to monitor flood relief, rescue work and also remove encroachments.
He told TNIE that BBMP will go ahead with its encroachment drives, and clear culverts connecting lakes to stop flooding.
According to reports, a flat at Divyashree ranges between Rs 2.5 crore and Rs 7 crore.
“During its launch, the property was priced at around Rs 2 crore, and has gone up to Rs 8 crore. Despite paying so much, it still gets flooded,” said a resident from the area.
Similarly, Adarsh Palm Retreat, comprising over 300 villas, was also flooded due to heavy rain, breaching of lakes and overflowing drains.
At TZ Apartment in Ramagondanahalli, BBMP had to deploy boats, and the SDRF team from Belagavi was sent to coordinate with BBMP and Fire and Emergency Service officials.
ALSO READ | Help pours in for flood-ravaged Bengaluru
Teams were also deployed at Yamalur-Borewell Road to ferry residents from Shobha Palladium, and other areas.
The drain next to this apartment is almost full, and the main road is under 3ft deep water.
Aqua cars
Floods in Bengaluru engulfed luxury cars.
From Bentley to Lexus, Audi Q5, Mercedes Benz, and others have been submerged.
CEO of Unacademy Gaurav Munjal, his family and his pet were evacuated on a tractor on Tuesday.