Rain cripples parts of Bengaluru; traffic paralysed, roads waterlogged

Bengaluru: Rain on Friday caused severe waterlogging at the Ramamurthy Nagar underpass, with slow-moving traffic for about three kilometres in the evening.

While Friday afternoon's light showers brought welcome relief to Bengaluru, traffic police reported waterlogging at 38 locations. The worst affected was the Ramamurthy Nagar underpass on the Outer Ring Road.

"Due to the ongoing metro work, the stormwater drain is blocked, leading to water overflowing on the road. The traffic piled up till Hennur junction on one side and Lowry Junction on the other side," said a senior traffic police officer.

Other areas affected by waterlogging were the Okalipuram underpass, Binny Mill Junction, Horamavu underpass, Lowry Junction, and the Nagawara signal near Manyata Tech Park.

Residents struggled to wade through flooded roads, especially near Ramamurthy Nagar and the Horamavu underpass. 

Sunil Thomas, a resident of Horamavu, told DH that the area witnessed heavy rains for almost an hour followed by a brief power cut. “The stormwater drain is completely filled with trash, so all the water flowed on to the road. Several roads in the area were completely blocked.”

J Suresh, residing in Blessing Garden Layout in Byrathi, said despite Bescom officials putting Thursday’s three-hour power cut down to the feeder line, which they reportedly rectified, residents in the layout experienced nearly a four-hour blackout on Friday.

12 trees fall 

K Subrahmanya, supervisor of the BBMP control room, said 12 trees fell at K Narayanapura, RT Nagar, Sanjaynagar, Rajarajeshwari Nagar, Mahadevapura, and Basavanagudi.

Traffic police said a massive tree fell on a car on Subedar Chatram Road near Ananda Rao Circle. No injuries or casualties were reported.

Power outage 

Bescom received 14,500 complaints from across the city for power cuts, minor interruptions, and low voltage issues.

A senior official attributed the interruptions to minor trips in transmission lines. He revealed maximum complaints emanated from the city’s central, east, and south regions. 

He told DH that 10 electric poles had fallen in the city — five in the Nagawara-Kothanur area, four in the Hesaraghatta area and one in Frazer Town; 15 poles had fallen and two transformers had broken down in the KGF divisional zone.

“All the poles will be restored within 12 hours,” he said.

42 goats, herder struck by lightning 

Ratnamma (55), a goat herder and resident of Ganagalu village, Hosakote, was struck by lightning in an open field at 3 pm on Friday. At least 42 of her goats were also killed. She is survived by her husband Chikkanna, also a herder, and sons, who work as drivers.