THE DAY AFTER: Workers clearing trees and electric poles which were uprooted following Friday's rain at Jayanagar 4h Block, in Bangalore on Saturday. — Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

BANGALORE: Heavy rains that lashed the city on Friday claimed two lives and left behind a trail of destruction.

An ailing woman, Dhanamma (58), who was asleep, died after water entered her house in Sampangiramanagar. Her relatives and neighbours claimed that she was unwell for the past four days and was suffering from low blood pressure. She died after three feet of water collected in her house, they said.

The authorities of the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) admitted that water had entered into Dhanamma's house. They said she could have died of low blood pressure and cold. Autopsy will reveal the cause of death, they said.

In another incident, the body of an unidentified man aged around 35 years, who is suspected to have been washed away in flash floods, was found in the Narihalla drain that runs between Srinagar and Azad Nagar. Around 6 a.m. on Saturday, passers-by noticed the body in the drain and alerted the Chamarajpet police.

A cow was found electrocuted in Kempegowda Nagar bordering Chamarajpet on Saturday. The animal had stepped on a live electric cable that snapped during the rain on Friday night, residents of the area said.

Water logging

According to BMP authorities, complaints of water-logging was reported from 35 areas in Southern and Eastern parts of the city such as Neelasandra, Ejipura, Thippasandra, 2nd Stage HAL, Ittamadu, Cooks Town, Fraser Town, Tannery Road, Srinagar, Shanthinagar, and Basavanagudi.

The BMP has formed six emergency squads, two in each zone, to attend to rain-related problems. The BMP employees had a busy day on Saturday clearing hundreds of trees that were uprooted on Friday. The Fire and Emergency Services has pressed into service 20 vehicles to clear the uprooted trees and pump out water from flooded areas.

Tree felling

The BMP is awaiting permission from the Tree Authority, which has inspected "dangerous" trees in West Zone, to fell them. The Authority is yet to inspect such trees in other zones, the BMP's Engineer-in-Chief, Ramegowda, told The Hindu .

The Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM)'s Chief Engineer, N.S. Kumaraswamy, said 434 electric poles were uprooted all over the city. Nearly 80 poles were replaced by Saturday evening. Over 900 employees are involved in restoration work. The remaining poles will be replaced in the next two days, he said.

Heavy damage has been reported from areas falling under Jayanagar, Koramangala and Padmanabhanagar sub-divisions. The BESCOM has suffered a loss of Rs. 4.8 crores because of rain and fall in the consumption of power during the past five days, he said.

On Friday, nearly 15 electric poles were uprooted in 4th Block, Jayanagar alone, disrupting traffic and power supply. Five trees on a lane in 5th Block, Jayanagar, collapsed on the houses, causing minor damage to buildings. Three huge trees collapsed near the junction of 5th Block, Jayanagar, and J.P Nagar on Aurobindo Road damaging three vehicles, including a Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation bus. Traffic was blocked at the junction for nearly three hours.

A car was damaged when the compound wall of a house in Indiranagar collapsed. In a similar incident, a tractor was damaged when the compound wall of APS College in N.R. Colony caved in.

BMP blamed

The Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly, B. S. Yediyurappa, has blamed the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike for the rain-related accidents in the city and demanded that urgent measures be taken to prevent further accidents.

In a press release, he said the digging of trenches indiscriminately for laying optical fibre cables and not covering them properly is responsible for the uprooting of trees. Even the Bangalore Development Authority is responsible for many rain-related tragedies, he alleged. It is time both the BMP and the BDA attended to the respective works before the monsoon sets in, he added.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Karnataka

News: Front Page | National | Tamil Nadu | Andhra Pradesh | Karnataka | Kerala | New Delhi | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous | Engagements |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary | Updates: Breaking News |