Pre-monsoon showers yet again brought Bengaluru to a standstill on Monday. Heavy clouds engulfed the city by afternoon and many parts, especially South and Central Bengaluru received heavy showers.
South zone and Rajarajeshwari Nagar received the maximum rainfall. Hosakerehalli lake overflowed due to heavy showers in the evening. Residents complained that sewage-mixed water gushed out of the lake into their streets. Scooters were stuck as knee-deep water stood on the roads. Residents of Pushpaguri, D'souza Nagar and Munneswaranagar were among the worst affected.
The water level receded in about two hours. "If it continues to rain like this, the lake rejuvenation might not get completed. There is no scientific approach to the rejuvenation project and no coordination among the various departments involved," said Joseph Hoover, a resident of RR Nagar.
Waterlogging was seen on RV Road in front of Vijaya College near Lalbagh. Heavy showers meant that two-wheelers and auto-rickshaws had a hard time wading through the water. Many people were seen pushing their two-wheelers or attempting to turn around and get out of the waterlogged section of the road.
Parts of Hosur Road and Brigade road too saw waterlogging in the evening, causing traffic to slow down. Pedestrians ran for cover despite having umbrellas as they waited for the rain to abate.
Light to moderate rain continued into the night in many parts of the city, including Kengeri, Rajarajeshwari Nagar, HAL airport, Hoodi and Pulakeshinagar. Southern parts of the city such as Kumaraswamy Layout, Gottigere, Begur, Hemmigepura, Uttarahalli, and Jayanagar, received moderate rains, with a spell of heavy rain being reported in parts of Banashankari.
Calls pour into BBMP helpline
After the heavy rain, the BBMP too was flooded with complaints. A compound wall of an apartment collapsed near PES College, control room staff said. The control room also received three complaints of trees being uprooted or branches falling, one in Basavanagudi and another in Shantinagar. A tree branch also fell on the road in Shantinagar.
Moderate rainfall across Bengaluru for the next three days
According to the data from the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre’s (KSNDMC) Varuna Mitra dashboard, as of 9.30 pm on Monday, Vidyapeeta received the highest rainfall at 92 mm, followed by Uttarahalli which recorded 51 mm of rainfall.
Surprisingly, Yelahanka and the Northern parts of the city hardly witnessed any rainfall. A Prasad, a senior scientist at IMD Bengaluru attributed the showers in South Bengaluru to the movement of clouds from northern Tamil Nadu. “Though there were heavy clouds that moved from northern Bengaluru towards South Bengaluru, the rainfall remained moderate,” he said.
IMD has predicted moderate rainfall across Bengaluru for the next three days. “Evening and night showers are likely,” Prasad said.