BENGALURU: As a torrential downpour battered Bengaluru for three-and-half hours beginning 2am Monday, citizens were in for a rude awakening. Boats and tractors were deployed to rescue stranded citizens in areas, including Sai Layout in KR Puram. With water above knee-level in many areas, citizens bore the brunt of the relentless heavy rain on Monday.
They lambasted the government for its failure to address flooding. Not only was the public affected, but Central Crime Branch sleuths were not able to enter their office on Monday morning as the building located in Vinayak Nagar, off Double Road, was flooded. Sampangiramnagar Police Station, too, was affected by the flooding.
Many homes in Austin Town’s Vannarpet, Ashwini Layout in Ejipura, ST Bed in Koramangala, Wilson Garden, Neelasandra, Anepalya, BTM Layout, Silk Board, HBR Layout, HSR Layout, Hennur, Sai Layout, Panathur, Nagawara, Manyata Techpark and Bellandur were among the prominent areas that were flooded.
Cars and two-wheelers parked inside the buildings and roadside were submerged and citizens had to wade through knee-deep water to get out of their homes.
While many Bengalureans were asleep, Shivakumar, a local leader from Vannarpet, received a distress call from the area’s residents around 2am, seeking help. “Due to the heavy rain, nearly 200 houses were completely flooded. The stormwater drain reached its full carrying capacity and the water overflowed into homes,” he said.
Priya, a resident of Ejipura, said her wedding saree, invitations and other things for the big day were destroyed when water rose to 3 feet, flooding the colony. Rescue teams were pumping water using motors and in its absence, citizens arranged motor pumps on their own to pump out the flooded water.
Residents lamented that they have to spend a lot of money to clean their flooded homes and polluted water tanks. “Public representatives and BBMP officials are rogues. They are putting our lives and property at risk by not doing anything,” said Shajahan, a citizen who was affected by the flooding.
Local leaders seated on a tractor reached Jakkasandra, on the edge of Bellandur Lake, to understand the problem and help the stranded. Due to waterlogging, vehicles were breaking down in the middle of the road. A KSRTC bus broke down at Shanthinagar, while a BMTC bus stopped as rainwater entered its engine.
Due to water-logging at Silk Board Junction and Outer Ring Road connecting KR Puram via Kadubeesanahalli, there was a huge traffic jam on Monday morning.
Rajarajeshwari Nagar dairy farmer, Anthony, who lost six of his livestock said, “Due to compound wall collapse at a community hall, water gushed into the cattle shed. I have over 40 livestock, and by the time I rescued them, we lost six as dirty water had entered their noses, leading to their death.”
Senior officials of the BBMP who visited the rain-affected areas were taken to task by the residents.
ON STANDBY
2,000 civil defence volunteers put on alert. Teams will coordinate with fire department in rescue operations.
On Monday, around 300 people residing on ground floors were evacuated from Sai Layout. Food, medicine and water was supplied by civil defense personnel
TREE FALL May 18 &19
50 Trees
80 Branches
Over 100 two-wheelers parked in the basement of KR Market building were completely submerged in Monday’s rain. The traders had to wait till officials arrived to pump out the water
Vegetable and fruit vendors saw dip in business as the flood-like situation turned away customers
