Wet, gloomy weather swamps Bengaluru

Shettihalli Lake near T Dasarahalli which breached on Friday. DH Photo/B H Shivakumar

BBMP workers fill the potholes at KR Market with gravel on Friday. A large majority of roads in Bengaluru are riddled with potholes. DH PHOTO/ANUP RAGH T

The waterlogged basement of the Kendriya Vihar apartment in Yelahanka, North Bengaluru, on Friday. DH PHOTO/B K Janardhan

A man with an umbrella walks in knee-deep water at the Kendriya Vihar apartment, North Bengaluru, on Friday. DH PHOTO/B K JANARDHAN

A man tries to divert the floodwater in Shettihalli, T Dasarahalli, after Shettihalli Lake breached following heavy rains on Friday. DH PHOTO/B H SHIVAKUMAR

The wet, gloomy weather has continued to overwhelm the city, flooding localities, uprooting trees, turning streets into veritable pools and giving vehicle users a hard time.

Thundershowers in northern Bengaluru caused Mallasandra Lake, near T Dasarahalli, to breach around 3.30 am on Friday, giving slumbering residents the nightmare of their lives. The absence of working stormwater drains prevented the rainwater from running off and caused it to accumulate on the streets of surrounding localities.

“There was no less than three feet of water wherever you saw,” a Mallasandra resident recalled.

Residents were woken up by a sudden feeling of numbing cold and many were horrified to see water gush into their homes. All were evacuated, the resident added.

Dasarahalli MLA R Manjunath and BBMP officials visited the flooded localities.

K Narasimha Murthy, Joint Commissioner (Dasarahalli Zone), BBMP, dwelt on why the lake breached:

The owners of a convention hall had built a compound wall abutting onto the lake’s boundary. This blocked the path of a natural canal that earlier helped the excess water to run off. The construction of the compound altered the course of the canal, triggering flash floods.

Also read: Ulsoor building collapses due to heavy rain, occupants evacuated safely

Streets turn streams

The BBMP’s claim of desilting and clearing stormwater drains has fallen on the face as all major streets in the city resembled streams. As drains remained clogged, the excess rainwater accumulated on the streets.

Due to clogged and congested drains, almost all major streets of Bengaluru resembled overflowing rivers. Roads in Chalavadipalya, off Mysuru Road, had more than one foot of water. New Horizon College Road, TC Palya Main Road, Aiyappa Circle, Vigyan Nagar in Kaggadasapura, Apeksha Hospital Road in Annasandra Palya and Maruti Garden Road in Bellandur also overflowed with floodwater.

VMS Garden on Thindlu Main Road, Nanjappa Circle, Sainik School in Marappana Palya, Hebbal, and Sarai Palya near Nagavara also witnessed flooding.

An apartment complex in Vidyaranyapura was surrounded by floodwaters which almost submerged parked vehicles. The parking area and the playground in the Kendriya Vihar apartment in Yelahanka had three feet of water all through the day.

According to the India Meteorological Department, the maximum rainfall was recorded in Electronics City and adjoining areas (12 mm).

While the rainfall was mostly uniform across the city, eastern (Mahadevapura) and northern (Yelahanka) parts saw relatively more rain. A total of 73.5 mm rainfall was recorded in Bengaluru on Thursday, the IMD said. Mahadevapura, Yelahanka and Bommnahalli were the worst-affected BBMP zones.

Vehicle users faced a struggle of a different kind as floodwaters subsumed potholes, which proved to be a double-edged sword.

Shalini Y P, a resident of Banashankari, summed up what lakhs of vehicle users faced: “When there is no rain, we can at least avoid the potholes. But on flooded streets, you can’t really make out the potholes. That’s dangerous.”

Those using public transport struggled for last-mile connectivity as auto and cab drivers cancelled rides or overcharged them.

Non-stop phone calls

Staff at the BBMP control room were busy working the phone calls as distress calls kept coming throughout the day. “We usually get 100-150 calls a day but Thursday was different. We received over 250 calls,” a staffer said. There were over 25 complaints of waterlogging on roads alone.

Waterlogging complaints came in from MG Road, Cambridge Road, Kodigehalli underpass and many other areas. BBMP staff drained the rainwater from flooded streets without waiting for public complaints, the staffer added.

Incidents of house, wall collapse:

* One single-storey building in Halasuru

* The sidewall of a house at Kacharakanahalli.

* Two sidewalls of houses at Sonnenahalli.

* A wall collapse in Nandini Layout

Major waterlogging was reported from at least 15 roads: MG Road/Cambridge Road, three roads in HSR Layout, four roads in Anugraha Layout, Kodigehalli underpass.

Trees uprooted in: Dodda Banaswadi, Baiyappanahalli metro station, Koramangala
5th Block, Shakambari Nagar, Banashankari 2nd Stage, JP Nagar 9th Phase and Chickpet (Hospital Road).

Wards with most rainfall:

* Hagadur: 142 mm

* Varthur: 104 mm

* Doddanekkundi: 104 mm

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