Rains lash Bengaluru, paralysing peak hour traffic

Bengaluru: Rains lashed Bengaluru city overnight and well into Tuesday morning, paralysing peak-hour traffic movement.

According to the India Meteorological Department’s Meteorological Centre, the Bengaluru city observatory recorded a total of 16.2 mm of rainfall as of 8.30 am on Tuesday. Bengaluru International Airport and HAL airport observatories recorded 10.5 mm and 8.6 mm of rainfall respectively.

Moderate rainfall is likely to occur for the next three hours over isolated places in Bengaluru Rural and Urban districts, along with Ramanagara, Kolar, and Chikkaballapur districts. The IMD daily weather report shows that isolated heavy rainfall or thundershowers are very likely to occur over Bengaluru for the next few days.

Rain and waterlogging affected Bannerghatta Road, Hebbal flyover, Outer Ring Road at Goraguntepalya, Marathahalli, and Iblur, airport road service road, Vasanth Nagar underpass, Wilson Manor underpass, M G Road, Whitefield Main Road, and Khoday Circle.

Traffic police put out an advisory at 11 am where it said Kasturi Nagar Bridge - MM Temple Road, SV Road, Ramamurthy Nagar underpass, Sankey Road, Hennur-Bagaluru Main Road and Ganganagar Road were flooded.

Northeast monsoon in the city

The IMD is likely to declare the onset of the northeast monsoon in the city today (Tuesday). Normally, October 15 is when the southwest monsoon withdraws and the onset of the northeast monsoon is declared usually by October 20. However, C S Patil, senior scientist, IMD, said that the conditions on Tuesday morning are such that they are going to declare the onset of the northeast monsoon today.

BBMP chief commissioner instructs officials to be vigilant

BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Giri Nath on Tuesday instructed officials to have preparedness measures ready in light of incessant rains in the city.

In a virtual meeting, he advised officials to act with caution and ensure steps are taken to avoid flooding, especially in flood-prone areas. Should any problem arise, arrangements must be made to relocate residents to a safe place, he said.

He instructed officers in charge of road infrastructure works to inspect all major roads and take appropriate measures to prevent waterlogging and ensure waste collected in shoulder drains are cleared to enable outflow of rainwater.

According to the BBMP control room, a tree fell in BTM Layout on Tuesday morning, which was cleared by afternoon. Additionally, Malleshwaram, Govindarajanagar and Vijayanagar reported fallen tree branches, a BBMP official told DH.

The chief commissioner also asked residents to immediately contact 1533 and lodge any rain-related complaints or grievances.