BENGALURU: An orange alert (moderate to heavy rainfall) has been issued for Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural, Kolar, Ramanagara, Ballari and Chitradurga districts. The IMD had issued a yellow alert (light to moderate rain) for some of the districts falling under South Interior Karnataka which includes Bengaluru Urban and Rural districts, up to October 24. This has been upgraded to orange alert.
According to IMD automatic weather station, till 8:30pm Monday, Doddaballapura in Bengaluru Rural recorded 70mm rain. However, Bengaluru city recorded 6.5mm rain. The IMD has warned people from going out during heavy rain, and standing near trees and walls. Meanwhile, in Yelahanka, a 100-ft long section of the compound wall of GKVK campus collapsed, impacting movement at Judicial Layout in the evening.
In another incident, due to the wall of Chitrakoota Residency in Kodigehalli collapsing, water gushed into the cellar of the apartment from the adjacent drain, and was cleared with a pump. Water also reached the basement of Kaiser Residency in the same area, and was being pumped out. According to BBMP, nine houses near Basava Samiti, ten houses in Venkateshamappa Layout, eight houses in MS Palya and one house in Telecom Layout were flooded and officials were getting the water cleared.
61.99mm rain lashes city overnight
From Sunday evening to early Monday morning, Bengaluru was flooded with a 61.9mm downpour, prompting Bengaluru Urban Deputy Commissioner to declare a holiday for schools as a precautionary measure. Areas such as Shanthinagar and Yeshwanthpur were particularly affected, with over 25 homes in Malik Bazaar, Shanthinagar, being inundated due to a swollen stormwater drain.
Frustrated residents noted that during heavy rain, they are forced to pack their bike silencers with plastic covers to prevent water damage, while many park their cars away from their homes. They also alleged that when the area was flooded early in the morning, neither BBMP officials nor elected representatives reached the spot. Officials visited the area only after water receded.
Shantinagar MLA NA Haris, who is also Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) chairman, said he was not aware of the morning floods, and since it is a low-lying area, it is prone to flooding during heavy rain. He assured that intensive cleaning of drains is under way.
Residents alleged that only after water receded did the MLA and officials visit the flood-hit area. The situation was similar in Sai Baba Layout in KR Puram, which has been witnessing persistent floods in the past week.
Meanwhile, heavy rain caused recently repaired potholes to resurface, making roads unmotorable once again for pedestrians and motorists. Traffic was also slow in areas like Outer Ring Road, Marathahalli, Silk Board Junction, Hosur Road etc. On Mysuru Road, traffic police covered bad stretches with concrete to facilitate smooth traffic.
Recently, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar had stated that road development works will be prioritised once the rainy season concludes.
SUDDEN RAIN HOLIDAY LEAVES SCHOOLS, PARENTS CONFUSED
Bengaluru: The Bengaluru district administration declaring a holiday for schools at the last minute, due to heavy rain on Monday morning, left school management, parents and students in confusion. By the time the announcement went public, many children had already left their homes and reached their schools.
It put parents and children to much inconvenience, as children whose schools start at 8 am had started their journey around 7am. Also, the holiday declaration left schools in confusion, though some continued to operate as usual. The sudden holiday announcement also put parents in a quandary. Parents who dropped their wards to school on their way to work had to change plans and drop them back home or make alternative travel arrangements. Some parents who learnt about the holiday at the last minute said their children were ready for school and even their lunch boxes were packed, but they stayed home.
PV Vinay Kumar, a resident of Hesaraghatta, took his son at 7.30am for his school starting at 8am. “We didn’t know about the holiday declared by the district administration. I dropped my son to his school and he attended classes as usual, there was no holiday declared by the school,” he said. “In case the management would have asked my son to be taken home, I wouldn’t have had any option but to take him with me to office, as there was nobody at home,” he added.
