Bengaluru: Heavy overnight rains here led to flooding on Thursday and made people to experience again the nightmarish struggle they endured recently, caused by showers and inundation. Normal life was thrown out of gear and many parts of the city were flooded while a compound wall of the Metro Rail collapsed and cars parked close by came under mounds of rubble, officials said.
Rainfall also lead to collapse of a wall near the Majestic that resulted in damaging several four-wheelers parked on the road. A video of damage has also surfaced in which three cars can be seen heavily damaged as boulders kind bricks can be seen on the cars roof. No one was present when the wall came down crashing. A car owner demanded that the government compensate them for the damage and alleged that shoddy work led to the wall collapse.
The busy Shivajinagar neighbourhood resembled a river in spate and cars and bikes were swept away and people struggled to save their belongings. Water entered several houses in nearby Ramnagara district as well and the residents were evacuated to safer places. Suburban residential and commercial areas in and around the Outer Ring Road, badly hit a month ago due to heavy rains was not affected during the current spell of rain. A civic official said the recent anti-encroachment drive minimised the damage.
Also read: Mysore's Ambavilasa Palace wall collapses amid heavy rains
Waterlogging, incidents of tree fall, damage to civic infrastructure and power outage were reported from various areas and the 70 mm rainfall brought the city to its knees. Over a month after the flooding on September 7, the city once again received heavy downpour. Flight operations were affected and dramatic videos of rescues, flooded roads and houses, submerged expensive cars made the rounds of social media.
At the posh HSR Layout, nearly 200 families were affected when water gushed into their houses including the basement area of a few apartments. According to Jagadish Reddy, a resident, the basement portions of many apartment complexes were flooded and it submerged vehicles. The south Bengaluru's Anugraha Layout at Bilekahalli was badly hit as the entire colony came under sheets of water. In the eastern parts of the city, even 12 hours after the rain, several areas looked like perfect waterways.
The national highway between Bangalore and Pune passing through the outskirts of the city turned into a waterway for a stretch of 1 km . Following which an alternative arrangement has been made for vehicular traffic on the other side of the highway. A adjacent to the highway in Anchihalli village of Tumkur taluk, is filled to its maximum capacity and the excess water is getting accumulated on the national highway.
According to India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast, till early Friday, there is a possibility for a few spells of rain or thundershowers. The city has been receiving rain for the last few days. The deluge last month led to large-scale destruction of properties in the city and several offices had asked their employees to work from home. (With agency inputs)
