When the hailstorm hit Bengaluru's Church Street, a bookstore paid the price

Bengaluru: Close to 5,000 books were damaged at Bookworm on Church Street after the hailstorm flooded the store and clogged nearby drains on Wednesday evening.

Proprietor Krishna said the store, which sees brisk business on Wednesdays, was inundated as hailstones piled up and blocked drainage.

Located at the bottom of an inclined driveway, the shop usually does not get flooded as water drains quickly, but the volume of hail slowed runoff.

Pedestrians on MG Road and Church Street took shelter wherever they could as hailstones battered the roads and accumulated along the sides.

Damaged titles include copies of the ‘Asterix and Obelix’ series, ‘Elon Musk’ by Walter Isaacson, ‘Penguin Book of Indian Poets’ compiled by Jeet Thayil, ‘Cubbon Park: The Green Heart of Bengaluru’ by Roopa Pai, and the ‘Percy Jackson and The Olympians’ series by Rick Riordan, among other children’s books.

“We had added extra stock because of the summer holidays when business rises. However, many books are damaged,” Krishna said.

While some estimates place the loss in lakhs, he said the extent is yet to be assessed.

About 30% of the books can be saved by placing them out in the sun. These will likely be sold at a lower cost. The rest will have to be discarded.

Nearly 5000 books were lost as floodwaters surged in and drains overflowed on Wednesday evening.

“These days publishers use recycled paper, so the quality is poor and most books do not withstand water damage. Comics such as Asterix and Obelix have zero chance of survival as they are made with oil paper,” he said.

Basement shops on Church Street and some ground floor outlets were partially flooded during the downpour.

“I have never seen such a hailstorm in all the years I have lived in Bengaluru. It was unbelievable and terrifying,” a hotel staff member said.

Workers at affected shops tried to pump out water while informing owners, as pedestrians struggled to move through traffic and clogged drains.