The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Rain wreaks havoc in city

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Friday, Jun 12, 2009
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Rain wreaks havoc in city

Staff Reporter

Body of 34-year-old Laggere resident recovered

— Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

Herculean task: Firemen engaged in pumping out rainwater at a commercial complex on J.C. Road in Bangalore on Thursday.

BANGALORE: The downpour on Wednesday night left the city stunned and compounded the woes of people who had to contend with water-logged roads, traffic hold-ups and power shutdown, even as the body of a Laggere resident was recovered.

Shops and houses were flooded, major thoroughfares were under knee-deep water and areas notorious for water-logging were badly affected even as the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) control rooms received numerous complaints of drainage overflow, water-logging, water seepage inside homes and tree-fall.

The body of a 34-year-old resident of Laggere Puttaswamy was found near a pool on the road connecting Laggere and Kempe Gowda Nagar. Passers-by who noticed the body informed the police. “Reports suggest that Puttaswamy, who was in a drunken state, may have been washed away in rain. We will ascertain the reason shortly,” a police official said.

The Central Business District saw flooded shops, houses and a massive gridlock in various parts of Majestic and Gandhinagar. Residency Road, Richmond Road and Double Roads were flooded in ankle-deep water, covering pavements and potholes. M.G. Road and Ulsoor, of which large parts have been blocked off for the Namma Metro construction, were in bad shape.

“The reason for rainfall was local thunderstorm activity and it took place only within the city,” A. Muttuchami, Director, Meteorological Department, told The Hindu.

Traffic was stuck for close to an hour at major signals. Cambridge Layout was also affected badly.

Low-lying areas such as Sampangiramanagar were submerged in more than a foot of water, with water entering homes.

In Puttenahalli, things got worse as the night progressed. Residents complained of drainage overflow, severe water-logging and seepage.

“My house was flooded with water and I had to clean the house in the morning before leaving for work. I cannot shift from this place as the rent here is low,” B. Rajamma of Ashtalakshmi Layout in J.P. Nagar 6th phase, Puttenahalli said.

Flooding of basements in several residential and commercial complexes around the city was reported.

In some cases, like in J.C. Nagar, water had to be pumped out with the help of the Fire Emergency Services Department. The BBMP South control rooms received over 20 complaints of tree-fall and water-logging in Jayanagar, J.P Nagar and Kormangala.

Subramanya’s visit

Meanwhile, BBMP Commissioner S. Subramanya on Thursday visited rain-affected areas in the city and directed officials to take steps to ensure that low-lying areas were not affected when it rained.

The BBMP emergency task force cleared 16 tree branches that had fallen at various places.

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