Bengaluru's pre-monsoon showers return to flood streets, uproot trees

The underpass near the Cantonment Railway Station was submerged following a heavy downpour on Tuesday. DH PHOTO/B K Janardhan

Motorists on a submerged stretch on MG Road. DH PHOTO/Anup Ragh T

The heavy rains that returned on Tuesday evening wreaked havoc in the city, uprooting a dozen trees, flooding streets and slowing traffic to a crawl.

The city received 6.88 mm of rains till 8.30 pm, even as the mercury during the day crept to 34 degrees Celsius and the minimum temperature was recorded at 22.4 degrees Celsius.

Underpasses in low-lying areas were flooded, the worst affected being those near the Cantonment Railway Station, Fraser Town, and Vasanthnagar.

Tree falls were reported from Shivajinagar, Cunningham Road, BTM Layout, JP Nagar, and Koramangala. The BBMP’s rescue and relief teams swung into action and were seen clearing fallen trees in these places.

“It was rush hour in the evening when people were returning from work and we wasted no time in getting the tree-clearing squad to get out there and remove the fallen trees and branches to prevent them from blocking vehicular movement,” said a BBMP chief engineer.

Traffic snarls

People taking Cunningham Road or heading to Shivajinagar complained of prolonged traffic snarls.

“I had to travel an extra four kilometers to reach home because the fallen branches were being cleared,” said Akshatha, an IT professional.

More rains after May 5

Tuesday’s rain was attributed to wind discontinuity and a trough developed in the southern Andaman region causing a cyclonic circulation.

A low pressure could develop in the next two days over the Bay of Bengal and this could increase rainfall in the southern interior regions of the state. It will also affect Bengaluru.

“What we are witnessing now is called a convective cloud formation, which occurs during pre-monsoon. This is accompanied by thunderstorms, lightening and gusty winds.

“Trees can be uprooted and damage could be caused during this phase,” said an official with the Met department in the city.

The official also said that scattered rainfall is expected in the city after May 6 and it is likely to increase over the coming days.