Helplines to call during the rains

Fallen trees? Overflowing sewage? Power outage? Keep this list of emergency numbers handy this season

BBMP

B S Prahlad, in charge of the stormwater drain wing at BBMP, listed out these numbers for rain woes, snake scare, and more: 080-2222 1188, 080-2222 4748, or 1533. Metrolife did a test call and we got a swift response from the first and last helpline. However, the second number was continually ‘out of use’.

1533, called One City One Number, is an integrated helpline available in two languages, Kannada and English. You can dial 1 for Emergency services, 2 to reach BBMP, 3 for BWSSB, and 4 to connect to BMRCL.

BESCOM

1912 is the 24/7 helpline by the city’s electricity board, Bescom, and is run by a team of 100. Metrolife’s test call was attended to immediately.

Around this time of year, they get 15,000-20,000 calls per day, of which, 60%-70% are related to power disruptions caused by rains accompanied by gusty winds. Rashmi M from the customer relations department said, “The power disruptions happen when trees fall on electric poles, or poles break down, or transformers get damaged. Every call is routed to the respective sub-division and section officer.”

You can also reach Bescom on WhatsApp [phone]), on social media (@NammaBESCOM), or via email ([e-mail]).

BWSSB

Call 1916 to report rain-related grievances to the city’s water supply authority, BWSSB. A team of 20 runs the 24/7 helpline and Metrolife’s call was picked up at once. The helpline gets 400-500 calls a day during monsoons and the complaints are almost always about blocked drains and overflowing sewage. “We mostly get calls from K R Puram, V V Puram, Frazer Town, Yelahanka New Town, Kothanur, Chamrajapet, Chandra Layout, and Mahalakshmi Layout,” a staffer said.

Other ways to reach Bescom: 080-2223 8888 (call); 87622 28888 (WhatsApp).

TREE-RELATED

During incessant rains, there are frequent reports of trees collapsing on major roads or branches falling inside the compound of houses. You can raise tree-related complaints via Sahaaya 2.0 (Namma Bengaluru), an integrated grievance app for all civic bodies (BBMP, Bescom, BWSSB, BMTC, etc). It is available on Android. “On Sahaaya, you will find official contacts for all eight zones,” a staffer from the BBMP forest cell said.

“We get more tree-related complaints from east Bengaluru (such as Cunningham Road) and also the south (such as Jayanagar),” she added.