JOIN USRain has Bangaloreans scurrying for cover
Rain affected normal life for nearly seven hours on Monday. Many trees were uprooted, water gushed into houses in low-lying areas and traffic snarls were reported in many areas across the City.
It was a welcome shower in the City for the third consecutive day, which was witnessing a summer-like situation due to the sweltering heat. The rain helped increase the groundwater level, giving relief to many people who had to fetch water from far off places.
An autorickshaw driver had a miraculous escape near M N Krishna Rao Park at Basavanagudi when a huge Gulmohar tree came crashing down on the autorickshaw.
The driver only suffered some bruises and minor eye injuries. He was sent to Victoria Hospital, from where he was shifted to Minto Eye Hospital to treat eye injuries. There was a minor traffic jam in the area due to the tree fall. But it eased after the tree was cleared.
Traffic snarls
The torrential rains left the central business district of the city water-logged and the traffic choked.
The arterial roads and crucial junctions of the central business district saw slow moving traffic.
“Compared to the rains of the last weekend, today’s rains are less severe. We were prepared for a downpour in the morning itself and it has been smooth so far.
Waterlogging in certain crucial junctions has paralysed traffic to a certain extent. But this has been a persistent problem since many years and we are left alone to contend with it,” rued one of the senior traffic cops on the city’s roads.
“The stretch of KG Road from the Kempegowda statue to the Kempegowda bus stand is filled with potholes and is waterlogged. This slows down the movement of buses on this stretch.
It has a cascading effect in the adjoining arterial roads and junctions, causing traffic congestion in SBM Circle, Hudson Circle and JC Road. This stretch is proving to be a problem in the rainy season. The BBMP needs to look into the issue,” said M M Mahadevaiah, DCP (Traffic West).
All the roads in and around Majestic area saw traffic snarls. KG Road, Platform Road, Subedar Chatram Road, BVK Iyengar Road, Krishna Floor Mill Junction, Basaveshwara Circle, Kino Circle, Shivananda Circle and Mount Carmel College were some of the places that saw heavy traffic jams for hours on end as the roads were waterlogged.
Weather forecast
According to the Meteorology department, the City received 22.7 mm rainfall by 8.30 pm on Saturday.
The department has forecast that the sky will generally remain cloudy and there may be one or two spells of rain at some places on Tuesday. The rains in the last few days are the result of a low pressure area across most of India.