Two die as torrential rain triggers massive floods in B’luru, IMD says more to come
BENGALURU: At least two people were killed, while several others were left scrambling for shelter as heavy rainfall battered large parts of Bengaluru. Three workers were stuck in a flooded pipeline in Ullal Upanagara, and only one person managed to escape.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday issued an Orange alert for urban and rural districts of Bengaluru, predicting heavy rainfall for the next 4-5 days.
Several parts of India’s IT capital were left inundated after Tuesday night’s unprecedented rainfall that continued till early hours on Wednesday, damaging property and leaving the 12 million-odd residents of the city in a state of despair.
Nearly 3-4 feet of water in localities such as Nayandahalli, Wilson Garden, Silk Board, Cambridge layout, among other places, left people and vehicles wading to safety.
“There are many low-lying areas in Bengaluru. The geographical terrain is such that after one point, when it rains more, everything will come
downward. They have built homes next to Raja Kaluve (storm water drains) and there is a situation in which water has nowhere else to go,” chief minister Basavaraj Bommai said after visiting Hosakere Halli.
Incidentally, his predecessor BS Yediyurappa visited this locality around the same time last year when it was flooded.
He had then announced that he would get it fixed, and spent several crores to create drainage infrastructure which has had no impact on the woes.
“In Hosakere Halli, Yediyurappa had visited and it was full of water. Drains were constructed. It has happened across Bengaluru and we have to fix all SWDs in a way that takes the
water away from these localities. In several places, the SWDs hit a dead end. We have undertaken more work to remove all bottlenecks and ₹1,600 crore set aside for it. Despite this, some low-lying areas are still affected. Many people have built homes near lakes, so there are consequencies,” the chief minister added.