Bengaluru rains: 'Unprecedented', says Bommai; IMD issues yellow alert

With intense rain continuing in Bengaluru, the city faced major waterlogging as well as traffic issues on Tuesday as Chief Minister Bommai noted that 'unprecedented' rainfall had been witnessed the last few days, compared to the last 90 years.

Bengaluru:With a rain-battered Bengaluru continuing to battle its woes, scenes of chaos, rescue and administrative machinery grinding gears reigned supreme on Tuesday, as civilians were rescued in tractors and boats in parts of the city, while companies and schools shut shop, and Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai addressed the situation at hand.

Speaking to the media, Bommai said, "Karnataka, especially Bengaluru has received unprecedented heavy rainfall compared to last 90 years. All the tanks are full, overflowing and some have breached. It is not that entire Bengaluru is facing a situation", adding that only in two zones the situation was grim. Areas such as Mahadevapura, Bommanahalli and K.R Puram received 307 per cent excess rain between September 1 and 5, Bommai said.

The scenarios flooding in, however, painted a hapless picture as cars were seen abandoned in front of residential properties partially submerged, as pedestrians made their way through knee-deep, stagnated rainwater. Bellandur, HSR Layout, Nallur, among other areas, were ravaged by torrential downpours on Monday night.

A large part of the inundation was observed to have taken place due to tanks being filled to their limits all across the city, with the Mahadevapura area being a significant example. In Mahadevapura, there are a total of 69 tanks, all of which are either breached or overflowing, the Chief Minister stated.

Meanwhile, the MeT department has issued a yellow alert for the city as it forecast more rains. The city, according to MeT, is expected to experience a spell of heavy to moderate rain for the next weather five days. Dr Geeta Agnihotri, Scientist, Meteorological Department said, "Widespread rains will take place for the next 5 days." She further added that the city will face widespread rains for the next 3 days after which fairly widespread rains will lash the next 2 days in South interior Karnataka.

While 8 cm of rain had been witnessed in Electronic City, 9.6 mm and 5 cm were the rainfall levels identified in the latter areas. The Met department further predicted 'widespread rains' for the next five days in coastal and north interior Karnataka.

IT companies in the silicon city, on the other hand, swiftly switched to online mode. "Things are bad. Please take care," said Unacademy co-founder Gaurav Munjal in a tweet, as he shared visuals of himself, his family and his pet being rescued by a tractor.

"All our associates at Bengaluru are safe. We are closely monitoring the situation and our delivery teams have been advised to exercise due caution," said a spokesperson of Tata Consultancy Services.

"Due to heavy rainfall in Bengaluru, Wipro has advised its employees to work from home today. Business Continuity Plans have been invoked and there has been no disruption to business" IT firm Wipro was quoted as saying in response to a query by news agency PTI.

"We're not able to book any cabs at all in this heavy rain. Some radio cabs drivers are charging as high as Rs 200 for just a kilometer," said a commuter trying to return home from work on Tuesday evening while speaking to news agency ANI.

Politics over the crisis, meanwhile, remained uninterrupted. While CM Bommai hit out at Congress over 'maladministration' over the current situation, state Congress chief DK Shivakumar tweeted out, asking "Has the BJP government, which boasted of making Bangalore a world-class city with modern amenities, forgotten that now? Who built poor infrastructure in a world-class city? Tell me, do you have the answer?".

" ... Once hailed for infrastructure, Bengaluru has been reduced to a joke. Come 2023, I promise to put an end to all this & restore Namma Bengaluru to its former glory" Shivakumar also said.

The city has so far witnessed one death, as Akhila, a 23-year-old woman riding back home, was electrocuted in the city's Siddapura area after she touched a live wire near an electric pole. The father of the deceased explained on Tuesday that the latter had fallen off her scooter due to waterlogging and come in contact with the pole.