Uprooted trees, broken branches yet to be cleared from roads

Five days after hundreds of trees were uprooted due to heavy rain, the BBMP is yet to clear the the broken branches and tree trunks in many places.

On September September 9, heavy downpour wreaked havoc, bringing down hundreds of trees and several electric poles. The BBMP had set up 21 teams to clear roads blocked by the fallen trees.

There is hardly any space for motorists and pedestrians in Basavanagudi and Chamarajpet as the branches and trees have occupied the footpaths and roads. “Pedestrians and motorists have to jostle for space on the roads,” said Chandralatha, a commuter.

Shopkeepers in Hanumanthnagar have been put to hardship since the remains of the trees have not been removed. “I do not know when they will remove the debris. It has been more than five days. It is hard to enter our shop with huge trees lying here,” said Nagaraj, a tailor on the main road.

Another tree has occupied the entire entrance of another shop, whose owner has made an alternative arrangement through another door.

Meanwhile, Appu Rao, Deputy Conservator of Forest, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) said that around 150 people have been deployed to remove the uprooted trees across the city. “We are clearing the uprooted trees and we would require another three days to clear everything. Around 50% of the trees have already been cleared,” said Rao.

Lalbagh wall collapses

The compound wall of Lal bagh, opposite RV Teacher’s College, has collapsed due to the heavy rain that brought down huge trees. “Around 15 trees were uprooted on this road alone. The compound wall collapsed as two huge trees fell on it,” said an official who was inspecting the restoration work of the optical fibre cables near the compound.

DH News Service