BENGALURU: In the wake of the India Meteorological Department issuing an orange alert for the next two days, Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister DK Shivakumar on Tuesday ordered the BBMP to intensify rain-related work and boost preparedness as over 100 places in the city witnessed severe waterlogging.
Addressing the media after visiting the BBMP Central Command Centre, he said the city witnessed a 228 per cent increase in rainfall on Tuesday morning. And between 8 am and 8 pm, the city received 65 mm rainfall due to which waterlogging and flooding at 142 places have been reported. The DCM also said among these, 34 places have been declared as flood-prone areas and measures have been taken to fix them.
He also added that due to rain, 30 tree fall cases were reported across Bengaluru and the BBMP forest department along with other civic teams have cleared the uprooted trees at 22 places and efforts are on to resolve the remaining complaints. Similarly, 35 tree branch fall cases were reported and 27 complaints have been attended to so far. Due to the rain, Yelahanka, West and East zones received more complaints.
In the morning, BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Girinath instructed officers to be prepared in their respective zones given the continuous rain in the city. Addressing a meeting virtually on Tuesday, he said it has been raining continuously since early morning and all officials should act with caution. “Necessary steps should be taken to avoid any problems. Be vigilant near flood-prone areas. If there is any problem, arrangements should be made to take the residents to a safe place immediately.”
Officials of the road infrastructure department should inspect all major roads and take appropriate measures to prevent waterlogging. In collaboration with the corporation staff, he instructed them to clean the waste near the gratings and ensure that the rainwater flows smoothly to the side drains.
According to control room officials, places like Manyata Tech Park, Geddalahalli Railway Under Bridge, Nagavara Flyover, Amruthalli in Yelahanka, Bharath Nagar in Saraipalya, Gupta Layout in Ulsoor, Balagere Road near Sarjapura, Bellandur and many other areas reported water logging leading to traffic. There was also a report of a cave-in at an under-construction site near Manyata Tech Park due to the heavy rain.
SCHOOL BUSES GET STUCK ON FLOODED ROADS
Peak hour traffic in Bengaluru was severely disrupted, particularly impacting schoolchildren. Due to waterlogging, several school buses were stuck, leaving students stranded with some being transported by earthmovers and tractors.
In Whitefield, a private school bus was stuck in knee-deep water and the students were moved to an excavator. On Balagere Road, school buses were trapped in a 2-km waterlogged stretch. In another incident near Varthur, a private school bus was stranded, forcing children to be transferred to a tractor to reach school.
HEAVY RAIN IN SOUTH-INTERIOR KARNATAKA
The IMD has forecast isolated heavy to very heavy rain and thundershowers for Bengaluru Rural, Bengaluru Urban, Chamarajanagar, Kolar, Mandya, Mysuru and Ramanagara districts in south-interior Karnataka on October 16.
The city recorded 59.8mm rain till 5.30 pm with a dip of 3.1 degrees Celsius in maximum temperature on Tuesday. The maximum temperature was 25.4 degrees Celsius. HAL airport recorded 80.1mm rain, with a dip of 2.9 degrees Celsius in maximum temperature.