Roads turn into rivers as rain piles misery on Bengaluru

Exposing the BBMP chief's claim that Bengaluru is "ready for the monsoon", overflowing lakes fed by overnight rains flooded many parts of the city, including the famed IT corridor, and caused long traffic snarls on Tuesday.

The southeastern part of the Outer Ring Road (ORR), which houses many marquee companies, resembled a swollen stream with knee-deep rainwater. So great was the water force that it gushed into the BMTC's Vajra buses that serve the tech corridor.

Government agencies passed the buck on who should take the blame for the mess.

In what was probably the defining moment of the city's poor rain preparedness, the ORR near the RMZ Ecospace tech park in Bellandur turned into a giant swimming pool, jamming vehicles and trapping commuters.

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Marathahalli, Devarabeesanahalli, Sarajpur Road, Bommanahalli, Silk Board Junction, BTM Layout, etc witnessed some of the worst waterlogging in recent memory.

Traffic was the most obvious casualty.

Rakesh S, a software engineer who left for work at 8.45 am, took more than three hours to cover a distance of seven kilometres. "The road was completely flooded. Though the rains had receded by morning, water levels had not come down since water was continuously flowing out," he said.

Though the traffic police and the Outer Ring Road Companies Association (ORRCA) diverted the traffic towards arterial roads, commuters had a hard time navigating the stagnant water.

Smitha K, who travelled from Silk Board Junction to Bellandur, said two-wheeler riders had to get off and push through because the high water levels blocked the engines.

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Vinod K, another commuter, recalled a similar situation near Ecospace five years ago and wondered why the authorities didn't take action.

The ORR flooding was blamed on the overflowing Savalakere while the swollen Madiwala and Bellandur lakes took the blame for flooding elsewhere.

Put on the defensive, the BBMP said no lake had been breached and blamed another government agency, the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), for the ORR mess. Encroachments on stormwater drains were also cited for the flooding.

"Due to the heavy rains, the waste weirs of a few lakes may have flowed over their capacity. But there was no lake breach specifically. We may have to instal more gates and ensure better management of water flowing through the waste weir. We will take up such works within the next monsoon,” said K V Shashikumar, BBMP Chief Engineer (Lakes).

Another engineer suggested that the BDA hadn't provided a proper drainage system when it built the ORR almost 20 years ago.

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BBMP Chief Engineer (Stormwater Drains) M Lokesh attributed the flooding to encroachments on the drains.

"At some places, stormwater drains have narrowed to as little as one metre. There are encroachments around the Ecospace, too. We have ordered a survey of the entire area and will work on removing encroachments and restoring it to the original width," he added.

H R Shantharajanna, Engineer Member, BDA, said the agency was not at fault.

"The ORR was handed over to the BBMP at least six years ago. There have been heavy rains but such problems had never come up. This is only because of poor maintenance and the (BBMP's) failure to clean the stormwater drains. There is no design flaw and the road has been constructed as per the standards," he said.