Another day of wet mess in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: An overcast Wednesday evening gave way to showers that caused major traffic disruptions across the city due to waterlogging.

Some of the worst-affected roads included the stretch from Dairy Circle to Hosur Road, Kadiranapalya Lake to the KR Puram metro station on Old Madras Road, Hebbal Junction, and several parts of the Outer Ring Road such as the Ramamurthy Nagar underpass, MMT Junction, Kasturi Nagar down ramp, Goraguntepalya Junction, and the stretch from Madiwala to Bommanahalli bus stop on Hosur Road.

Several roads in Whitefield were completely waterlogged, including the Gunjur-Varthur stretch, Siddapura, Thubarahalli, Panathur, and Balagere Road.

Around 6.40 pm, the Lingarajapuram flyover was choked with vehicles heading towards the Central Business District. 

People returning home from work found it hard to get cabs and autos.

Ramesh Krishnam, an IT professional who travels from HSR to Manyata Tech Park every day, said that he had to spend an extra Rs 250 while hailing a cab on Wednesday evening.

"There were more cancellations than bookings. I finally paid Rs 600, which is Rs 250 more than usual to return home. Autos were impossible to get," said Krishnam. Cabs and autos towards Hebbal, Marathahalli, and some areas in East Bengaluru such as Sanjay Nagar, Cox Town, Fraser Town, and Banaswadi were hard to hail.

"Despite adding a tip of up to Rs 50, I couldn't get an auto. Finally, a tip of Rs 70 worked. I have seen this trend of adding tips during weekends and extended holidays," said Diya Johnson, a student at Mount Carmel College, who was returning from Vasanthnagar to her home in Banaswadi.

More rain predicted

As of 8.30 pm, the Bengaluru city observatory of the Meteorological Centre, IMD, recorded 7.2 mm of rain, while the Bengaluru HAL airport observatory recorded 12.7 mm. The international airport recorded 2.4 mm of rain up to 5.30 pm.

Until Friday morning, the IMD predicts that Bengaluru city will see a partly cloudy sky, with light rain or thundershowers and gusty winds at speeds of 40 to 50 kmph likely.

The maximum and minimum temperatures are expected to be 34°C and 21°C, respectively.