When the skies opened up suddenly on Saturday afternoon, citizens seemed to be caught unawares. The heavy rain that lasted for over three hours crippled the city. Roads turned into rivulets, houses were flooded and trees uprooted in a few low lying areas.
The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) control rooms were flooded with distress calls from the citizens.
Banashankari and K.R. Road were the most affected areas because of the tree falls. An autorickshaw was badly damaged when a tree fell on it on K.R. Road.
The other areas where tree falls were reported included ISRO Layout, Hanumanthanagar, Bapuji Nagar, Vasanth Nagar, Bagalagunte and Dasarahalli. At H.B.R. Layout, Soundarya Layout and K.P. Agrahara, the rain waters inundated a few houses. Water logging was also reported at M.S. Building and Kanteerava Stadium.
Traffic jams
The vehicular movement across the city was badly affected. Bumper to bumper traffic was witnessed on all arterial and sub-arterial roads. Two-wheeler riders were worst affected. Many sought shelter under the awnings of road-side shops and under the flyovers. “It took me nearly three hours to reach Shivajinagar from Kanakapura Road. The rain water was seeing through the roof of the BMTC bus,” said a citizen, who spoke to The Hindu on condition of anonymity.
The underpasses in many areas were also flooded. The BBMP officials, who were attending to the rain-related complaints, claimed that they were prepared to tackle any eventuality. They said that 10 control rooms were equipped with men and material and would function round-the-clock.
Traffic in the central business district was disrupted due to heavy rains on Saturday.
Bus stranded at K.H. Road
A KSRTC volvo bus stranded in the middle of the busy K.H. Road led to huge traffic snarls. Traffic police rushed to the spot and towed the bus to the stand .
By then, traffic piled up on adjacent roads including Hosur Road, Kasturba Road, M.G. Road, and Lalbagh Road. Water logging on the roads cause slow movement as two-wheeler riders parked their vehicles on the roadside to take shelter at shops and commercial establishments on the roads.
State of buses
As rain lashed the city, commuters in buses were mute witness to water pouring inside the buses along with strong winds pushing waters through window panes. "Unfortunately I couldn't even close my side of the window, it was totally stuck, and see how wet I am," complained Vinaya who was travelling from KSIT on Kanakapura Main Road to Sajjan Rao Circle. As it poured, even the driver of the crowded bus on Kanakapura Road had to navigate with difficulty as the wipers went motionless and the conductor was left wiping the wind-shield. People getting off the bus landed in pools of water at most bus stops.
