Thunderstorms hits Sunday crowd; metro disruption gives auto drivers field day in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: Auto-rickshaw drivers took full advantage of the metro train disruption caused by the fierce thunderstorm that struck Bengaluru on Sunday, fleecing hapless customers at will. 

Many citizens said they missed their bus, train and flight journeys as five hours of torrential rain accompanied by gusty winds traveling at 50-60 kmph crippled the city. 

At least 128 tree falls were reported in different parts of the city. More than 100 locations along arterial and ward roads experienced waterlogging. Power outages were also reported from many areas, officials said. 

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) said eight vehicles were damaged by fallen trees though the number is a conservative estimate. 

Motorists are vehicle wades through a waterlogged road during heavy rainfall in Bengaluru on Sunday.

Namma Metro suspended train services between MG Road and Indiranagar after an uprooted tree fell on the tracks before the Trinity station. B L Yashavanth Chavan, Chief Public Relations Officer, BMRCL, said heavy rainfall hampered the removal of tree branches from the tracks. “All systems have to be checked for safety of train movements,” he told DH. 

The service wasn’t restored. 

A filmmaker from Magadi Road said she missed her bus to Puducherry after being “literally stranded” at the MG Road metro station. 

She said she left home at 8 pm and hoped to catch the bus at Baiyappanahalli at 10.20 pm. However, the metro train stopped  after reaching Cubbon Park. Then came the announcement that MG Road would be the last stop. 

A man clears garbage which causing water loged drain, , during the heavy rain on Dr BR Ambedkar Veedhi, in Bengaluru.

She couldn’t believe her eyes after getting down at MG Road.

“There were easily some 1,000 people at the metro station, visibly confused and helpless. There was no help from the metro authorities,” she told DH. 

The filmmaker came out of the station and tried to take an auto to Indiranagar but the driver asked Rs 200 for the 5-km ride. She agreed but he said it would take an hour. “It was 9.30 pm. I couldn’t have reached in time for the bus. So I decided to go back home instead. To her surprise, there was no metro.” 

She ultimately paid Rs 700 for a ride back home, 10 km away. She said some auto drivers demanded up to Rs 1,200. 

Overcrowded buses and overloaded auto-rickshaws were a common sight as people struggled to find a way home. 

The downpour caused widespread flooding and waterlogging in multiple locations, submerging dozens of underpasses. Prominent ones included those in Seshadripuram, Okalipuram and Cantonment. 

Traffic snarls plagued many parts of the city, with Bengaluru Traffic Police reporting significant congestion and slow-moving vehicles. The worst-hit areas included Nayandahalli Junction, Rajiv Gandhi Junction, Hebbal underpass and Benniganahalli railway bridge. A massive 5-km traffic jam was reported on the Bengaluru-Mysuru access-controlled highway due to the torrential rainfall in Ramanagara, severely impacting inbound traffic from Mysuru. 

A tree fall near Ramakrishna Ashram damaged a car, and an auto driver sustained injuries when a tree crashed on his vehicle. A fallen tree damaged a car in Gandhi Bazaar. An auto driver was injured after a fallen tree crashed on his three-wheeler. 

Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said his vehicle was caught in floods, with water levels rising to 2-3 feet on the road.