Heavy rain spanning more than two hours on Thursday evening in various parts of the city not only brought a deluge of woes but also exposed the preparedness of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), which is immersed in Covid-19 management.
Due to the heavy rain and inflow into the Vrishabhavathi, a major portion of the retaining wall along the Vrishabhavathi near Mylasandra on Mysuru Road was washed away.
Even though the city witnessed moderate rainfall, a few parts in North Bengaluru, West and Rajarajeshwari Nagar received heavy rainfall.
Areas in these parts of Bengaluru form major catchment areas of Vrishabhavathi and excessive runoff due to heavy rains swelled the perennial stream resulting in the collapse of retention wall along the Mysuru Road.
Jayaram, Executive Engineer, RR Nagar zone, BBMP, told DH that the wall collapsed around 5.30 pm, affecting the flow of traffic along the stretch.
“A portion of the retention wall of about 130-140 metres has been washed away. We have barricaded the area to block the flow of traffic. As a temporary measure, the wall will be replaced with sandbags and later a wall will be rebuilt. But there was no waterlogging on the road due to collapse of the wall,” he explained.
Sources in the BBMP revealed that the wall was built recently and the incident has yet again brought forth the quality of infrastructure built by BBMP across the city.
The residents of the nearby localities came to the rescue of motorists by setting up a temporary barricade and assisted in resolving the traffic gridlock.
Sources in the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) revealed that Kengeri received the highest rainfall of about 94 mm followed by the Kempegowda International Airpot 70 mm, Nayandahalli 78 mm, Vijayanagar 64 mm, Agrahara Dasarahalli 52 mm, Hampi Nagar 51 mm rainfall. Moderate rainfall was witnessed in Whitefield, Hebbal, Nagavara, Jayanagar and Mysuru Road as well, according to weather experts.
Tree falls
Officials at the BBMP control room revealed that as many as eight trees have been uprooted at Jayanagar 7th Block, Vidyapeetha, Channasandra, Nayandahalli and Hampi Nagar. Several areas reported falling of tree branches on electrical lines.
“All our personnel have been deployed to clear the fallen trees. There were more calls and complaints about prolonged waterlogging on several major and arterial roads of the city,” an official explained.