Bengaluru Rains Highlights: Deluge in city spurs demand for hotel rooms; tariffs surge

While flood waters receded in some parts of Bengaluru on Wednesday, the worst is not over for IT capital yet, with the weather bureau predicting heavy rainfall over south interior Karnataka, including the city, for the next two days.

. Although floodwaters receded here in some areas, the images of people rushing out of submerged localities in tractors is set to linger on in people's memory for long and the only silver lining now is the respite from torrential rains.

While elected representatives of the ruling BJP faced tough questions over tackling the deluge, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday said he would bat for special grants from Centre to handle the situation arising out of the damage caused by the downpour to civic infrastructure.

. The deluge in Bengaluru has led to a spike in demand for hotel rooms and a surge in room tariffs in some hotels as people escape waterlogged homes.

Most hotels in the city already had a very high occupancy before parts of Bengaluru got marooned and current high rates were not a direct consequence of the floods, said industry players.

When contacted, an OYO spokesperson said: "The average tariff for OYOs in Bangalore currently stands a little over Rs 1,000, making OYO an affordable and easily accessible stay option for flood affected people in the city. Our 'Nearby stays' option and 'Pay at hotel' facility makes booking an OYO easy for the rain drenched Bangaloreans looking for hotels. We hope to support as many Bangaloreans with quality stays during this challenging time for the city."

At Leela Palace Bengaluru, a staff said the pricing has always been dynamic based on occupancy and demand. At present the existing rate for a standard double room for a night is Rs 15,750 plus taxes per night while for a single room it would be Rs 15,000 plus taxes a night. - PTI.

. Volkswagen Passenger Cars on Wednesday said it has commenced special service support for its customers affected by the flood situation in Bengaluru.

The automaker said that round-the-clock free roadside assistance (RSA) will be available to customers at no additional charge until September 30, 2022.

The service aims at helping customers resume their normal life soon and have a safe driving experience, Volkswagen Passenger Cars said in a statement.

Complimentary roadside assistance has been put in action for the affected cars, which will be transported to the nearest dealership on priority, it said. - PTI.

. Karnataka will seek special grants from the Union government as compensation for the damages caused due to the Bengaluru rains, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said Wednesday.

Bommai chaired a meeting with the Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) that is visiting Karnataka to take stock of the flood havoc. Senior ministers accompanied Bommai to brief the IMCT headed by Home Ministry’s joint secretary Ashish Kumar.

. Bengaluru South Lok Sabha member Tejasvi Surya was trolled and criticised by a section of social media users accusing him of relishing dosa and promoting an eatery in his constituency, when many parts of the city have been reeling under torrential rains and floods.

. E-commerce companies, especially their delivery boys, had a harrowing time to supply products to the customers when certain parts of Bengaluru was under deluge due to two days of heavy rains in parts of the city.

An executive of a leading e-commerce company told PTI they had to suspend services in certain places as it was not possible for anyone to reach there. “We are waiting for some time to see things settle. Things seem to be improving now in some places,” the executive said.

Meanwhile, an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement, “Safety of our associates is our top most priority. We are evaluating the situation, and ensuring that our associates do not venture in areas with excessive water logging.”

"Cases where customer deliveries have been impacted, we have informed them proactively", the statement read.

. Bengaluru was gearing up for more heavy rain on Wednesday after a brief respite from severe flooding, as authorities stepped up efforts to evacuate people and pump water out of inundated areas.

India's "Silicon Valley" is facing an unusually wet monsoon, which has brought 162% more rainfall than average since June 1. Floods after two days of incessant rain this week brought chaos and killed at least one person.

"We have issued a red alert for the region. Some pockets may get more than 20 mm of rainfall in an hour," a senior India Meteorological Department (IMD) official said.

. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted continuous rainfall in Bengaluru for next five days. Yellow alert was issued on Wednesday.

Sources said that the people will have to bear with the present condition for a few more days and they should be ready for the worst in the coming days in view of the rain alert. The authorities are crossing their fingers as the staff are working day and night to help the flood-affected people.

. The High Court on Wednesday directed the BBMP to set up ward wise grievance cells to address problems faced by the residents in the wake of waterlogging in the city. A division bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Alok Aradhe asked the BBMP authorities to notify ward engineers to deal with the problems faced by the residents.

. Parts of Bengaluru that were battered by torrentialrainsfor the last couple of days appeared to be slowly returning to normalcy with floodwaters by and large receding in some areas.

According to official sources, most parts of the waterlogged roads have been cleared, while work is on for removing water in some of the worst hit areas that were inundated, amid some respite fromrains.

. Flood waters receded on Wednesday in India's technology hub of Bengaluru, allowing normal life to resume in parts of the city after two days of incessantrainbrought chaos and killed at least one person.

Police said flooded roads had cleared in the worst hit areas with traffic returning to usual levels, while the city's water utility said it had resumed regular supplies after the flooding closed a pumping station.

. Information technology industry veteran T V Mohandas Pai has said the havoc caused in Bengaluru due to heavy rains was a result of multiple factors, including bad governance, high corruption and lack of urban reforms.

. Central teams on Wednesday took stock of the flood situation in Bengaluru as waterlogging continued to plague parts of the IT hub for the fourth day straight.

However, flood waters receded in several areas on Wednesday, allowing normal life to resume in parts of the city after two days of incessant rain that killed at least one person.

Police said flooded roads had cleared in the worst hit areas with traffic returning to usual levels, while the city's water utility said it had resumed regular supplies after the flooding closed a pumping station.

. With the south-west monsoons active in Bengaluru and the north-east monsoons just around the corner, now is the right time to start rainwater harvesting, say experts.

. The Bengaluru Urban district administration has declared a holiday for schools and colleges in KR Puram (East Bengaluru) taluk on Wednesday because of the incessant rain and flood situation.

Bengaluru Urban Deputy Commissioner K Srinivas issued an order declaring the holiday.Several schools and colleges were closed on Tuesday as well.

. Demand for hotel rooms hasseen an increase in the city as residents rescued from marooned buildings look for accommodations.

Bruhat Bengaluru Hoteliers Association (BBHA) President P C Rao said they have identified a few hotels and are ready to provide discounts of up to 50 per cent. “Not everyone will have relatives in the city to stay with during such a crisis. Hence, as a goodwill gesture, we have identified a few hotels where we will provide a discount of up to 50 per cent,” Rao said.

. While heavy flooding has prompted IT companies to allow the work-from-home option, long and unscheduled power cuts have left their employees in a fix.

“Last week, I had a nightmare commuting to work. I spent close to three hours on the road due to floods. Hence, many of us decided to work from home this week. But frequent, long and unplanned power cuts have turned the situation hopeless,” said Swati K, a software engineer living in an apartment complex in Bellandur.

. Bengaluru has seen disruption and devastation of an unprecedented kind when sudden downpours flooded the city and its suburbs, bringing misery to thousands of people and causing much damage.

A young lady was electrocuted while wading through water, and a good part of the city floated in flood waters. People travel in boats, vehicles are towed away, and lanes have turned into rivers.

. India's best-known IT firms and startups have asked staff to work from home as torrentialrainsbrought chaos to the streets of the technology hub, marooning roads and snapping water and electricity supplies.

While parts of the city that houses several global companies and home-grown startups, were underwater, operations in IT firms and startups were largely unaffected as most of them had power backup and a hybrid work environment where some employees logged in from home.

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