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Overflowing lakes inundate several areas as rain lashes Bangalore

Staff Reporter

Incessant rain from Saturday ; low-lying areas badly hit: over 1000 rescued

BANGALORE: Sunday turned out to be a nightmare for most Bangaloreans as lakes overflowed inundating several areas on both sides of the Outer Ring Road following Saturday night's incessant rain. Waterlogged roads brought the city's traffic to a halt.

Fire Services personnel rescued over 1,000 people either by using boats or ropes in Mangammanapalya and HSR Layout (off Hosur Road) while the Madras Engineer Group and Home Guards were called in by evening.

Residents of these areas said overflowing water from the Begur ad Madivala lakes reached almost up to the first floor of their buildings and they had go to their terraces while waiting for help.

Elsewhere, the Nayandahalli Lake breached around 1 a.m. and water gushed into the nearby areas.

In HSR Layout, Mangammanapalya, Begur and Bommasandra, the water level receded only in the afternoon today. Yet many houses remained in knee-deep to waist-deep waters forcing residents to remain indoors.

Water that entered Hosur Road Telephone Exchange left over 7,500 telephone lines dead in the areas serviced by it.

When it started raining in the evening, it had people and the officials worried. The Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic-East), M.A. Saleem, said that traffic problems on Hosur Road could worsen on Monday if it continued to rain.

He has suggested that people leave home early to reach their destination in time.

He has suggested they should use alternative routes such as Bannerghatta Road and Meenakshi Temple Road.

The Joint Director, Fire Services, B.G. Chengappa, said his men rescued about 250 people with the help of boats at Mangammanapalya and near Oxford Engineering College on Hosur Road in the morning.

At several other places, firemen helped people to safety using ropes.

He said water was flowing up to a height of two feet at a few places on Hosur Road. Vehicles were stranded for several hours on the road.

People from Mangammanapalya and Bommasandra blocked the roads in protest against the "failure" of the officials to come to their rescue.

CM convenes meeting

Our Bangalore Special Correspondent reports:

Chief Minister N. Dharam Singh has convened a meeting of senior officials connected with the Bangalore Development Authority, the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike and other agencies here on Monday to discuss the havoc caused by heavy rain.

Mr. Dharam Singh has also directed the Deputy Commissioners of the districts to inspect the areas devastated by rain.

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