Bengaluru rains ease, woes linger

Bengaluru: The impact of Monday's pre-monsoon downpour continued to be felt in many parts of Bengaluru as residents in flood-prone areas began the difficult task of rebuilding and returning to normal life. 

While rains eased on Tuesday, areas like Sai Layout, Blessing Garden in Byrathi, ST Bed Layout in Koramangala, Silk Board Junction and parts of HSR Layout remained flooded. Incomplete drain works worsened the crisis. Scores of residents reported property damage and financial losses.

Waterlogging on many arterial roads caused traffic disruptions. The traffic police had to close Hosur Road, including the Electronics City elevated expressway, for more than an hour due to heavy waterlogging at Roopena Agrahara. 

The maximum temperature plummeted by 8.8°C, making the day as cool as the night. The met department has issued a yellow alert, forecasting heavy rainfall for Bengaluru Urban and Rural districts on Wednesday. 

About a kilometre-long stretch of Vaddarapalya Main Road in Sai Layout remained inundated even as normalcy returned to all other roads that were flooded for two consecutive days. The BBMP had deployed an excavator to push the flood water into the roadside drain and the work went on till dusk. 

Ranjeni, who runs a beauty parlour in Sai Layout, said she had suffered a loss of about Rs 30,000. She will have to redo the interiors and clean the silt and dirty water that entered her parlour.

"I had closed the shutters, yet the floodwater seeped in due to the constant movement of vehicles. I rented the place just a year ago and invested nearly Rs 4 lakh in the interiors. I cannot think of moving out, but it will take me six months to recover the loss. I only hope it doesn't flood again," she told DH. 

Incomplete stormwater drain work appears to have contributed to flooding in several areas, including Sai Layout, where the BBMP had promised to widen the railway vent that cuts across the stormwater drain. The work remains far from complete. 

A similar situation occurred at Blessing Garden Layout, where the BBMP had failed to clear silt from the drain, leading to flooding across the entire area. 

Down south, residents of Koramangala's ST Bed Layout, HSR Layout and Wilson Garden spent a good portion of their weekdays pumping out contaminated sump water, cleaning their homes and hoping the situation doesn't recur. 

Mini Thomas, a teacher from 4th Cross Road, Jakkasandra Layout, Koramangala 1st Block, adjoining the ST Bed Layout, said she and her son took leave from work to clear the water that gushed into their ground floor on Monday. 

"We have lived here for 20 years. For the first 10 years, there was no issue, then some private builder began building homes behind us, which raised the ground level. All the floodwater mixed with sewage flows to our homes," she said. Her home was one of many in that area that had muck left behind after water entered their compounds. 

Following the downpour early on Monday morning, 15 shanties along the BTS bus depot road bore the brunt with sewage-mixed floodwater inundating the area. 

Manjula, a resident, said that the drains under their homes overflowed. "It brought garbage and plastic waste out in the open. The area is very smelly now. We have been experiencing this situation every year. My daughters and I spent hours pushing the water out and cleaning the room all day on Monday but we know the same thing will happen if it rains again," she said. 

Cab services on Tuesday remained restricted in waterlogged areas such as HBR Layout and parts of Sarjapur Road. A private cab-sharing company providing services to Kempegowda International Airport said bookings had been down by 60% since Monday. 

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar will undertake an inspection of the areas affected by rain and waterlogging at 11 am on Wednesday. 

Red alert in 7 districts

IMD on Tuesday upgraded the earlier warning to red alert in seven coastal and south interior districts of Karnataka. Meanwhile Bengaluru is still under the Orange alert category.