BENGALURU: Tuesday’s fits-and-starts rain in Bengaluru brought residents of Yelahanka, Mahadevapura and the city’s east zone to their knees as swirling waters flooded nearly 150 houses and several stretches of arterial roads, slowing down traffic movement.
Yelahanka was among the worst-hit areas, with more than 118 houses inundated. In Mahadevapura, 20 homes were affected by flooding.The downpour brought down 39 trees and 55 branches — 10 trees were uprooted in Yelahanka and seven in west zone.
Localities like Sai Layout in Horamavu, Rachenahalli in Jakkur, Kendriya Vihar in Yelahanka, and NC Colony in Pottery Town were severely impacted. Residents expressed frustration over BBMP‘s inaction in addressing the persistent issue of waterlogging.
Naseer Mohammed, a resident of NC Colony, recounted his experience after returning home from his hardware shop. “I could barely ride through the knee-deep water. I rushed home, packed up items from the floor and told my wife to prepare for the worst,” he said. Minutes later, water began entering their house. Mohammed said they were fortunate their children were not at home at the time: “We were lucky that my kids were at my cousin’s house, so we didn’t have to worry about their safety.”
Syed Noorani, another resident from NC Colony, echoed Mohammed: “The water was knee-deep. We couldn’t leave the house, and stepping out was dangerous due to flooded streets.”
Rachenahalli Lake overflowed, causing severe waterlogging on adjacent streets and leaving residents stranded. Shoba A, a local, lamented the lack of proper drainage, which exacerbated the flooding. “The roads are full of water since morning, and without proper outlets for rainwater, it’s only getting worse,” she pointed out.
Virupaksha Rao, who recently built a house near Lake Road, struggled to reach home. “BBMP failed to divert water into lakes properly, leading to waterlogging on roads,” he said, adding that he had to abandon his two-wheeler and walk through the water to reach home.
Suralkar Vikas Kishore, special commissioner for disaster management, said all zonal commissioners, joint commissioners and BBMP officials have been directed to work tirelessly to provide relief to the affected areas.
“NDRF teams have been alerted and suction pumps to remove water sent to localities where houses are badly affected. We have also discussed with engineering department to find quick solutions for rain damage,” Vikas Kishore told TOI.
With many companies working from offices Tuesday, there was slow traffic at Bellandur, Kadubeesanahalli, Sarjapur, KR Puram, Agara and Whitefield. “Normally, Monday is work from home for tech firms. This Tuesday was the first day of work from office after a long Dasara holiday. As a result, there were more private cars than usual on the roads, and their pace was drastically reduced due to waterlogging,” said DCP (traffic-south) Shivaprakash Devaraju.
BMTC cancels ops of over 300 buses
Waterlogged roads and bumper-to-bumper traffic compelled BMTC to cancel the operation of more than 300 buses on Tuesday. Bus services were withdrawn on key routes such as Central Silk Board to Hebbal, Yelahanka to Majestic, Kengeri to Majestic, and other areas. According to a BMTC official, heavy rain and traffic congestion on roads resulted in service disruption on many routes.
“On the other hand, ridership also dropped significantly. Considering the feedback from depots, several services were curtailed on routes where we usually operate multiple services,” he said.
A BMTC official said while there were delays in buses reaching Kempegowda International Airport because of slow-moving traffic, no services were curtailed on Airport Road.
IT, BT & pvt firms asked to allow WFH today
Karnataka Innovation and Technology Society (KITS) released an advisory Tuesday evening, urging IT, BT and private companies to allow their employees to work from home Wednesday due to heavy rain forecast in Bengaluru.
The advisory states, “In the light of continuous and heavy rain in the city and an orange alert issued by the meteorological department, we are prioritizing the safety and well-being of all employees working in IT, BT and private companies located in Bengaluru. As transportation may be disrupted due to flooding, waterlogging and traffic congestion, commuting to office premises could pose risks. As a precautionary measure, it is recommended that IT, BT and private companies permit their employees to work from home on Oct 16, 2024.”
An official from Outer Ring Road Companies Association (ORRCA) told TOI the association has received the advisory from KITS.
Bengaluru Residents Demand Action as Heavy Rains Expose Infrastructure Failures | Bengaluru News – Times of India
