JOIN USHeavy downpour accompanied by hailstorm threw life out of gear in many parts of the City, mainly South Bangalore, on Wednesday evening.
Several trees and electric poles were uprooted, leading to disruption in power supply and traffic jams and chaos on roads.
According to the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike officials, over 30 trees were uprooted in Hanumantha Nagar, Chamarajpet, Girinagar, Basappa Circle, Banashankari, Jagajivanram Nagar, Basaveshwaranagar, Thyagarajanagar, Nagarbhavi and Vijayanagar.
In Hanumantha Nagar, more than five trees were uprooted. At Minerva Circle, a car was damaged and its occupants suffered minor injuries as a huge tree fell on the vehicle. At Vidyapeetha Circle, a tree fell on a vehicle but no casualty was reported.
An electric pole collapsed at Narayanswamy Circle at Hanumantha Nagar, resulting in traffic jam. Palike workers cleared the fallen trees from the roads. But in Bangalore South division, there were complaints from residents that Palike was slow in clearing the trees.
Traffic police had a tough time in regulating traffic till the roads were cleared. Vijayalakshmi, a resident of Vidyapeetha area, said there was no power in the locality for over two hours from 6:30 pm.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) office said they received information about the hailstorms and thundershowers from the public.
According to IMD Director (Bangalore) B Puttanna, hailstorms and thundershowers are common during the pre-monsoon season, but are rare in the month of May. However, heavy pre-monsoon showers are normally reported in May.
He pointed out that there is a depression in east central Bay of Bengal. It is now moving in northerly direction and under this influence, most parts of Karnataka are experiencing heavy rainfall which will continue for the next two days.