JOIN USLife was thrown out of gear on Wednesday as rain lashed the City for the third consecutive day, flooding houses in low-lying areas and uprooting trees, which blocked roads causing traffic snarls.
Most parts of Bengaluru were chock-a-block with vehicles stranded for hours due to water logging. Many two-wheeler riders abandoned their bikes and took shelter in shops and beneath flyovers to avoid getting drenched. The police had a difficult time clearing the gridlock.
Road sections hit by traffic jams were Central Silk Board between Hosur Road and Outer Ring Road, Shivananda Circle, Nrupathunga Road, Kempegowda Road, Mysore Road, Magadi Road, Sampige Road, Mekhri Circle, M G Road, Residency Road, Bommanahalli and K R Puram, according to the traffic police.
Mohammed Abdul, a resident of Bannerghatta, said he was stuck in the traffic on his way to M G Road. “It took an hour to ride from K H (double) road, Shantinagar to Bishop Cotton Boys’ School on Residency Road - a little over a kilometre - which takes barely ten minutes in off-peak time”, he said.
Even four- wheelers were put to lot of hardship as a swollen stormwater drain in Nelamangala, about 20 km from here, overflowed, flooding the road.
Many houses were flooded in the low-lying areas of Bellimaranahalli and Bhuvaneshwari Nagar in Dasarahalli. Trees were uprooted in Hanumanthanagar, Basaveshwaranagar, Arekere, Mahalakshmi Layout, Mico Layout and on Crescent Road.
Knee-deep water stagnation was reported in most parts of the City. The traffic police and home guards were seen carrying children to safety or helping them cross the flooded roads in Vijayanagar, Magadi Road, Basaveshwaranagar, Rajkumar Road and other places.
According to Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), up to 5.30 pm, the City recorded 24.8 mm rainfall and up to 8.30 pm it received additional 8.4 mm rain.
HAL airport recorded 11.9 mm rain, while Kempegowda International airport recorded 0.2 mm rain up to 5.30 pm. The IMD has forecast that the City will continue to face thunder showers for the next two days.
The rain here is due to a low pressure area which has formed over east central Arabian Sea and its neighbourhood. This has become a well marked low pressure area over the same region and is likely to intensify into a depression during the next two days.
The City on Tuesday had received 7.2 mm rainfall, while HAL airport recorded 20.6 mm and Kempegowda International Airport recorded 12 mm rainfall.