Homes in low-lying areas were flooded
Heavy rains on Wednesday evening threw normal life out of gear in several parts of the city, bringing down trees, causing traffic jams, disrupting power supply and damaging property. Homes in some areas were flooded.
At least five trees were uprooted, including three in Jayanagar, due to gusty winds that accompanied the rain. A woman was injured while two cars were damaged after a huge tree fell on the vehicles on 100 Feet Road in Indiranagar. The incident led to a huge traffic pile up that spiralled over to HAL Airport Road and CMH Road.
Water gushed into several homes in low lying areas. At least 10 houses were affected in Padarayanapura and several others in Murugeshpalya. Yet again, Gali Anjaneya temple on Mysore Road was flooded.
“The pourakarmikas have stopped clearing garbage for the past two weeks in protest against non payment of salaries. This had forced many residents to dump garbage in storm water drains. Now, the drains are clogged resulting in homes nearby being inundated,” said Asha Nayak, a resident of KR Garden. “We are now forced to stay awake the whole night to remove water out of our homes. Neither councillors nor the civic officials concerned are answering our calls,” she claimed.
Meanwhile, several parts of the city plunged into darkness. The Bescom control room received complaints from Vijaya Bank Layout, Yelahanka New Town, RPC Layout, Vijayanagar, Marenahalli, JB Nagar, Indiranagar, Byappanahalli, Shanthinagar and Richmond Circle. Power cuts were also reported from Rajarajeshwarinagar, Jayanagar and Banashankari.
As it rained during the peak traffic hours, snarls were reported on Mysore Road, Hosur Road, Bannerghatta Road, Old Madras Road, Bellary Road and KH Double Road, among others.
Expect more rain
For the third successive day, Bangalore bore the brunt of a heavy downpour on Wednesday. The Met department attributes it to a cyclonic circulation over the Bay of Bengal.
With Wednesday’s rainfall of 42 mm, the city has clocked 146 mm in just the first week of October. This is nearly as much rainfall as Bangalore receives during the entire month of October (150 mm).
J. Srinivasan, Chairman, Divecha Centre for Climate Change, Indian Institute of Science, said, “While cyclone Hudhud, approaching Orissa’s coast, may or may not have a direct role in the most recent spell of rain over southern Karnataka, the satellite image of the storm appears to hint at a possible link with the intensity of the downpour. September and October are the peak rainfall months in the city. The last three days of rain are consistent with these long term trends.”
Meanwhile, the IMD has issued a ‘heavy rainfall’ warning for coastal and south interior Karnataka for the next three days.
(The Hindu)
