Bengaluru city drowns in 3-hour showers, water invades homes, mutt

A heavy three-hour thunderstorm ravaged the city on Thursday night, resulting in the toppling of at least 22 trees, once again highlighting the hazards of commuting during rainy weather.

The showers also flooded homes and temples in certain areas despite instructions from the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) top brass to their staff to be on vigil to handle the heavy rains in September.

Falling of trees and branches were reported from Sanjaynagar, Shantinagar, Koramangala, Sadashivanagar, Hosur, and Vyalikaval main roads.

Heavy water stagnation atop Hebbal flyover blocked vehicular movement. Traffic police personnel removed the garbage blocking the drainage to clear the waterlog.

Waterlogging was also reported from at least 50 places in the city, including Soundarya Park at Dollars Colony, parts of MS Palya, Bhadrappa Layout in Yelahanka, Kamakshipalya, Avenue Road, Sakra Hospital road in Bellandur, and Chinnapanahalli main road.

At Malleswaram’s Rayara Mutt, priests and devotees had a tough time draining water that entered its premises.

The heavy downpour prompted senior BBMP officials, including administrator Rakesh Singh and chief commissioner Tushar Girinath, to chair a meeting on Friday to discuss the rain preparedness.

Authorities instructed zonal chief engineers to visit areas hit by Thursday’s rains and immediately attend to the public’s complaints. Disaster management teams have also been asked to be on high alert round-the-clock.

Bengaluru unplugged 

Thursday night’s heavy rains blacked out areas around Koramangala and Jayanagar. Though Bescom officials acted swiftly to address the complaints, several residents said that the power cut lasted for hours.

Senior officials said that most of the power cut incidents happened due to uprooting of trees or branches that damaged the electric poles. “Since there was no wind, damage had been limited,” noted a senior Bescom official.

A Bescom count revealed that Thursday night’s rains damaged 21 poles and five transformers. “Our officials have attended to the repairs immediately,” a senior Bescom official told DH.

Monsoon to intensify

Following a dry August, Bengaluru is expected to receive normal to more than normal rain during September.

Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) officials said that monsoon in Bengaluru will pick up from September second week.

Strong winds uprooted a huge tree on Langford Road. 

“Bengaluru usually receives heavy rainfall in September. The average rainfall for September is 21 cm and we received close to 9 cm of rain last night. September will be a rainy month,” A Prasad, senior scientist at IMD Bengaluru, told DH.

IMD has declared yellow alert for Bengaluru on Friday and Saturday. “While most areas will receive rain till Saturday, a few will receive light to moderate rain for the next three to four days after Saturday,” Prasad added.

Rain will occur during late evenings and night hours. The monsoon showers will bring down the temperature, which was high in August. While the average temperature for September is 28.6 degrees Celsius, it may only go up to 30 degrees Celsius.