How 4-hour downpour turned Bengaluru into waterlogged mess; IMD issues more warnings for next 2 days

A flooded area near Jayadeva Hospital in Bengaluru on Monday. (PTI photo)

Bengalureans woke up to torrential rains on Monday morning in a wet start to the week. The uninterrupted downpour that began at 2am left key underpasses and important roads waterlogged, severely affecting the rush-hour traffic.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued warnings for heavy rainfall across Bengaluru, central Karnataka, coastal districts and areas bordering Karnataka and Maharashtra, from Wednesday onwards. The Met has also issued an alert on likely waterlogging and flash floods.

BBMP received 30 complaints of waterlogging and inundation on Monday. The IMD said its city observatory on Palace Road recorded 74mm of rain within a span of 24 hours until 8am.

Four children among six people sustained injuries after a tree fell on them in Jai Bharath Nagar in east Bengaluru in the morning, according to a report published in The Time of India newspaper. The children were on their way to school.

City's airports HAL and KIA received 34mm and 9.8mm of rain respectively on Monday.

“We had provided a prediction report to BBMP and the deputy CM, regarding monsoon showers, but they failed to heed our warnings,” a senior KSNDMC official was quoted in the TOI report.

The city saw waterlogging at 108 locations due to the prolonged rainfall.

In view of the heavy rain, traffic cops switched into alert mode before dawn and took to social media to guide citizens on navigating the flooded streets and ensure their safety.

Areas such as Outer Ring Road between Nagawara Junction and Hebbal, and Veerasandra on the Electronics City Road, parts of Hosur Road and Bannerghatta Road, were severely affected, official sources said.

Some houses and residential layouts in low-lying areas were affected by waterlogging and water gushing into the premises, officials said. Several underpasses were also inundated.

Heavy waterlogging was witnessed on ORR at Marathalli, Karthik Nagar and Kalyan Nagar, Puttenahalli, Varthur Kodi, Panathur Main Road, among others.

Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who is also in-charge of Bengaluru development, visited some of the rain-affected areas to assess the situation.

"If water has entered apartments and houses, let's rectify it. We want the ground water levels to increase," he said.
Noting that areas around Bengaluru like Ramanagra, Channapatna, Kanakapura, Magadi, Tumakuru, Kunigal and Kolar have not received good rains, he further said: "Malnad, coastal and other places have received rains so that dams are filled, but here rains are not enough, ground water levels have to increase."

Bangalore South MP and BJP leader Tejasvi Surya said the waterlogging and flooding in Bengaluru, after a few hours of rain in the early morning, once again exposed the absence of municipal leadership in the city.

(With PTI inputs)