Rain throws traffic out of gear in City

The moderate rains that lashed the City on Saturday evening threw traffic out of gear, inconveniencing commuters.

 Traffic was seen moving at snail’s pace in most parts of the City such as MG Road, Richmond Road, Double Road, Jayanagar 4th Block, KR Road, Sankey Road, Brigade Road and surrounding areas. According to the officials at Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike control room, a tree fall was reported near Ambedkar Medical College in Kaval Byrasandra. There was also a complaint of waterlogging at Opera Circle in Ashok Nagar. Commuters had a harrowing time in reaching their destinations as more than 1,000 BMTC buses have been deployed for BBMP elections.

The auto drivers made most of the opportunity by demanding exorbitant fare from the hapless commuters stuck in rain. The showers also affected the last-minute poll preparations of candidates as well as election officials. The Indian Meteorological Department has forecast rains on Saturday, the polling day for BBMP elections. Over the last few days the City was not seeing a rise in mercury levels, but on Friday evening this phenomenon changed.

“A low pressure area is likely to develop over north Bay of Bengal within the next three days. As a result of this City has been experiencing rainfall and will also experience rain on Saturday towards afternoon and evening,” said Dr Geeta Agnihotri, Director in-charge, IMD Bengaluru. Thus City was experiencing a rise an increase in temperature over the last 2-3 days and it was temporary.  Changes in weather and wind pattern are a common phenomenon during this season, she added. The IMD has forecast rain or thundershowers for Saturday and rains, if any, may affect the voter turnout for the BBMP elections.