Heavy rain lashes city, waterlogging follows

Heavy rain pounded parts of east and south Bengaluru on Wednesday night with Bommanahalli (97mm) recording the heaviest downpour in the past 24 hours.

Many trees were uprooted and several low lying areas witnessed flooding due to clogged drains. Some houses in Koramangala and HSR Layout were inundated with rainwater. Waterlogged roads and underpasses were a common sight.

Other places that received heavy downpour include Singasandra (85.5mm), BTM Layout (78.5mm) and Tavarekere (73).

Several trees were uprooted affecting the traffic movement on the main roads on Wednesday night. Two trees were uprooted on the road connecting Inner Circle and Outer Circle (near Lourdes Church) in the centre of Whitefield. The trees were not cleared by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) until Thursday morning, causing traffic snarls.

The residents of HSR Layout in Agara complained of waterlogging in fourth and sixth sectors.

Clogged drains

“All the stormwater drains in HSR Layout are clogged leading to waterlogging,” said Kavitha Reddy, a resident.

The area near Columbia Asia at Varthur Kodi in Whitefield main road witnessed massive traffic congestion due to waterlogging. Commuters shared traffic alerts, asking people to avoid the route.

Delayed response

The situation remained worse at a railway underbridge (RUB) On Croma Road in Panathur.

“Every time it rains, the RUB gets waterlogged. Even a car was not able to pass through it. We called up Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike emergency number.
But they sent someone to pump out water only after 6 hours,” said Neeraj, regular commuter of Croma Road.

“We are tired of calling the local corporator and the BBMP each time when it rains,” Neeraj added.

Police fill potholes

With the Bannerghatta Road becoming unmotorable, the Mico Layout traffic police went a step ahead and filled up the potholes on the stretch on Thursday.

They used cement stones to fill the potholes with the help of local workers.

The ongoing Namma metro construction work on the stretch added to the woes of commuters.