Thunderstorm destruction writ large on city landscape

Bengaluru Development Minister and Deputy Chief Minister Dr. G Parameshwara visited areas hit by heavy rains. Credit: DH Photo

Bengaluru Development Minister and Deputy Chief Minister Dr. G Parameshwara visited areas hit by heavy rains. Credit: DH Photo

Bengaluru Development Minister and Deputy Chief Minister Dr. G Parameshwara visited areas hit by heavy rains. Credit: DH Photo

Bengaluru Development Minister and Deputy Chief Minister Dr. G Parameshwara visited areas hit by heavy rains. Credit: DH Photo

The downpour of the past two nights brought down hundreds of trees, electricity poles and transformers, besides inflicting damage on scores of vehicles and plunging large parts of the city into darkness.

The damage was so extensive in northern and western Bengaluru that Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara had to visit many areas on Monday and order civic officials to get cracking.

As per the latest count, at least 100 trees and 500 branches have been uprooted. Parameshwara, who visited Vijayanagar, Malleswaram, West of Chord Road and other areas affected by the heavy rain, asked the officials to clear the debris immediately. He also instructed Bescom officials to restore the power supply. Mayor Gangambike Mallikarjun, BBMP Commissioner N Manjunath Prasad, Vijayanagar MLA M Krishnappa and others accompanied him during the inspection.

Speaking to reporters later, Parameshwara said a total of 61 teams from the BBMP, Bescom and other departments were working overtime to clear the debris from streets and restore the power supply. “The BBMP control room enabled us to be aware of the rain-related problems in real time,” he added.

Stating that some parts of Karnataka had received more than 120 mm of rainfall in the past few days, the deputy chief minister stressed that the BBMP was well-prepared for the monsoon that was expected to arrive in Bengaluru in a few days.

He said he had instructed the officials at an earlier meeting to take the necessary steps to tackle the problems arising out of monsoon. He said low-lying areas of the city had not been flooded and sought to take credit for that.

Parameshwara held another meeting with BBMP and Bescom officials about the rain preparedness, asking the agencies about the steps they had taken to avoid the flooding of streets and the potholes on roads. BBMP officials replied that they were removing silt from stormwater drains and that a premix of bitumen and sand had arrived from Tamil Nadu to fill up potholes.

Parameshwara further ordered the officials to clear garbage black spots as these might block rainwater and emit a foul smell leading to health hazards. He also asked the officials of the BBMP control room and other helplines to remain alert throughout the monsoon.

Officials said they were planning to raise awareness about the dangers of power lines by conducting painting and essay competitions on the topic for schoolchildren.