Rain brings Bengaluru to its knees...once again

Many arterial roads, including parts of the Outer Ring Road (ORR), were flooded and jammed with traffic on Tuesday after hours of torrential rains pounded Bengaluru.

The downpour turned several underpasses into ponds. However, authorities were quick to place barricades to prevent a repeat of last week's KR Circle tragedy. A 22-year-old techie had died after the MUV she was travelling in submerged in the flooded KR Circle underpass.

Vehicles passing through Bellandur were the worst affected as the entire road was filled with knee-deep water.

Some of the roads that could not contain the downpour were Bellandur near EcoSpace, Bannerghatta Road near Sagar Hospital Junction, Lingarajapuram underpass, Sivananda Circle, Chickpet Main Road, Sankey Road and KR Circle underpasses, and Old Madras Road near RMZ Infinity.

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Such was the volume of traffic congestion near Embassy Tech Village on the ORR that some commuters got down from office cabs to walk back home.

Sandeep Mohanty, a software professional, said he decided to walk home after his cab was stuck for 45 minutes. He was heading back to Devarabeesanahalli from Electronics City.

"The entire main carriageway was flooded. The service road was choked with vehicles. And it happened around 6.30 pm, which is office logout time. Although the intensity of the flooding was not as severe compared to last year, it shows the BBMP has not fixed the drainage issues around the road,” he said.

Volunteers coordinating with the BBMP said plastic and garbage had clogged the drainage point connecting the stormwater drain near the ORR. The water started draining quickly once it was removed. "There was water stagnation for about an hour,” a volunteer said.

Tree falls reported

Other than waterlogging, several areas also reported tree falls. Complaints were received from areas such as Old Airport Road, Babusapalya, CMR Road in Banaswadi, Belathur, etc.

At the directions of Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Girinath carried out an inspection to assess rain-related damages. He said all rungs of the BBMP machinery had been galvanised to face rains and floods.

"All zonal commissioners, chief engineers and executive engineers along with the forest wing have been directed to be on high alert on the field and monitor the situation constantly. The control rooms will be operational round the clock from zonal to sub-divisional levels. Equipment, vehicles and other paraphernalia must be in a state of war readiness," he said.

"The BBMP machinery must be equipped and prepared to meet eventuality and contingency of any kind, of any dimension, at any place and at any given point in time," the BBMP boss added.

According to Girinath, officers must be available to the citizens, and senior officers must have first-hand information to guide junior officers and other staff.

He warned of strict action, including suspension, in the event of carelessness, lethargy and irresponsibility.

10,000 manholes to be desilted

The familiar overflowing of manholes can be observed this year as well, with a BWSSB official saying the pre-monsoon desilting of manholes in flood-prone areas is slow this time since officials were deputed to election duties.

"Desilting is being done routinely as well, and nearly 10,000 manholes would be desilted soon," said the official, who attributed the overflow to the lack of shoulder drains, especially in areas like chikpete.

“Underground drains (UGDs) are designed to carry only domestic sewage. But in many areas that lack shoulder drains, rainwater is also entering UGDs, causing manholes to overflow. Obstructions like garbage and cloth also clog UGDs,” he said.