Heavy rain pounds Bengaluru

A spell of heavy evening rain inundated several roads and underpasses in the city, leaving motorists in knee-deep waters and hours of traffic snarls.

The rain — the heaviest the city has received so far this year, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) — also uprooted electric poles and trees, some on vehicles.

According to the IMD, Bengaluru city recorded 58 mm rainfall till 8.30 pm. It is the highest rainfall in the past 10 years in the month of February in the city.

Parts of south interior Karnataka, including Bengaluru, Kolar, Chikkaballapur and Ramanagar received heavy rain coupled with thunderstorms. Weather experts attributed the showers to the formation of a trough over the peninsular region. Cloudy weather conditions with light to moderate spell of rains are likely to continue till Monday.

Sources in the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) said areas like Sampangirama Nagar (67.5 mm), Basavanagudi (65.5 mm), Jayanagar (19.5 mm), Yelahanka (12 mm) and Attur (13.5 mm) witnessed heavy rainfall.

“The sudden rains are due to the formation of a trough extending from Tamil Nadu to Telangana, including parts of South interior Karnataka districts. This has resulted in thundershowers along with squally winds in certain pockets of the region. The situation is likely to continue till Monday. While it is common to witness a hot and humid day, it is likely to cause downpour towards evening,” explained Dr G S Sreenivasa Reddy, director of KSNDMC.

Cubbon Road near Minsk square, the underpass near KR Circle and Airport Road remained waterlogged for hours, leaving motorists fuming at authorities for not cleaning up clogged drains. Sources in the BBMP said trees were uprooted at 10 different locations of the city. Electric poles came down at a few locations. A huge tree fell on a car on Museum Road; similar incidents were reported from Viveknagar, Gandhinagar, KR Road, Basavanagudi, Vijayanagar, near Freedom Park and Nimhans. BBMP’s Prahari teams rushed to clear tree branches blocking roads.

Waterlogged roads and trees falling on the road resulted in traffic snarls at major junctions like Town Hall Circle, Raj Bhavan Road, Airport Road and Cubbon Road in CBD limits. Several traders in Chickpet area also reported flooding of shops and submerging of vehicles. According to Koramangala residents, 5th Cross Road in the area was flooded with drainage watern. The BBMP control official said, “A more serious inundation was reported from Uttarahalli and a car was inundated near Jayanagar Metro Station.”

Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara urged precautionary measures. “I have directed officials to take precautionary measures near stormwater drains, rajakaluves and low-lying areas,” he said in a press release.

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