Trees bear brunt of ferocious thunderstorm

Saturday night’s ferocious thunderstorm and the resultant widespread damage got the BBMP working on Sunday.

The downpour brought down at least 56 trees and 596 branches across the city, besides damaging scores of vehicles and electricity poles.

Mayor Gangambike Mallikarjun inspected the areas of damage and directed Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) workers to clear the debris. Banaswadi, HBR Layout and Kalyan Nagar, all in eastern Bengaluru, were among the areas she visited. By Sunday afternoon, BBMP workers removed 44 fallen trees and 359 branches.

Rs 5 lakh compensation

The mayor announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the family of Satish, a 35-year-old who was electrocuted in a slum in Ramachandrappa Garden, Cox Town, on Saturday. He died after stepping on an electric wire that was brought down by a coconut tree that had fallen on his hut following the thunderstorm. She said that the compensation was being paid as per the BBMP policy.

Gangambike further said that the BBMP forest cell was in the process of identifying unhealthy trees and branches, would trim them to prevent accidents. “We are coordinating with the local corporators in this regard,” she added.

No power since Saturday

The rain disrupted the power supply in many areas. Latha, from Brookefield near Whitefield, complained that the power supply remained disrupted since the rainfall on Saturday. “We have been soliciting help but nobody seems to understand our plight. We have neither power nor water since yesterday,” she said.

Pravir B, from Whitefield, said there was no power supply for the most part of Saturday night. While the supply was restored on Sunday morning, it was intermittent with a low voltage.

According to him, streetlights often go off when they are most needed. Walking on broken footpaths or pothole-ridden and waterlogged roads is nothing short of a nightmare, he added.

Prakash K Rao, a resident of Koramangala 4th Block, said the entire area suffered massive power cuts on Saturday. Worse, the fallen branches are yet to be cleared from the area, he added.