Bangalore : Heavy showers, Gusty Winds Batter City

BANGALORE, May 17 (TNN): An hour of heavy downpour followed by gusty winds at a speed of 18 kmph changed the Sunday mood across the city. Power lines were cut, trees fell and traffic piled up on major roads. A total of 24.5 mm rainfall was recorded upto 9 pm.

The cooling effect of the pre-monsoon showers apart, the BBMP and Bescom control rooms were flooded with calls complaining of tree falls, uprooted electric poles, power failure and some cases of flooding.

Ullalu (Ward 130) was among the worst hit by the evening showers. The heavy rain that started at 6.30 pm had a devastating effect. A wall collapse at the popular Ullalu basti killed 45-year-old Anjanamma on the spot. However, BBMP officials denied it and said she died after some construction material fell on her. Many other areas like Manganahalli Cross witnessed tree falls and uprooted electric poles that also disrupted power supply across the ward, apart from damaging a few vehicles.

"This is the first time the ward has a death during rain. It's unfortunate. We will work on a concrete plan of action with the BBMP to ensure it does not repeat," Ullalu corporator B Rajanna told TOI.

TREE FALL WORRIES

By late evening, the BBMP control rooms had received close to 60 complaints of tree falls across the city. At least 20 of them happened within the first few minutes of heavy downpour.

Majority of the affected areas were from the South, West and some parts of East Bangalore. This includes OMBR Layout, Ulsoor Lake, Basaveshwarnagar, Rajajinagar and Magadi Road. Tree falls at busy traffic zones on Nrupathunga Road, Queen's Road, Sanjayanagar, Indiranagar 5th, 12th and 13th Cross roads, Ramamurthynagar, ITC factory and N R Square caused huge traffic jams.

DRAINS OVERFLOW

Water from an overflowing drain in D J Halli entered houses along Modi Road near the Modi masjid and the Tippu mohalla near the entrance of Roshan Nagar. Failure of immediate action by BBMP also had corporator Sampath Raju upset.

"Situation is not very bad but they must be accountable. By 5.30 pm, the rain started. We lodged a complaint at 6 pm. Chief engineer called back promising immediate action. But even after 8.30 pm, there's been no action. Last two hours I have been directed from one person to another," he said.

TRAFFIC CONGESTION

Cambridge Layout in Ulsoor was another area badly affected by the rain. Frequently prone to such floods during heavy rain, the area witnessed traffic congestion due to ongoing drain works also. Many parts were yet to recover from the heavy rain on Saturday night.

Cab drivers were reportedly stuck in different parts of the city unable to cross certain areas due to long queues of vehicles.

POWERLESS HOURS

Most parts of the areas had to go without power for long hours. Complaints from North, East, South and Central zones of Bangalore flooded the Bescom office. Many areas like Kamanahalli and Kacharakanahalli had power cuts even before the afternoon rain. Sources in Bescom said power cuts were due to problems in feeders or uprooted poles. In many areas, power lines were cut in the rain. The substations had to switch off the power to carry out repair works. The areas most affected were: K R Puram, Ramamurthy Nagar, Kacharakanahalli, Mahadevapura, Nagarbhavi, Malleswaram, Ulsoor, Cubbon Road, Nagarbhavi, Basaveshwaranagar, Magadi Road, Peenya, Srinivasanagar, Rajajinagar, Kadirenahalli, Padmanabhanagar, Shivajinagar and surrounding areas.

PLEASANT SURPRISES

NO WATER WOES: Good news is that the power cuts on Sunday will not have any impact on water supply across the city this week. BWSSB now has a separate line for water supply. "This line has not been affected due to rain and water supply will not be affected," said an senior BWSSB official.

NO FLOODS AT PUTTENAHALLI: The perennially flood-hit area surprisingly had no water-logging at all. Good roads and relief works in the recent past had residents across most parts of this ward in relief even while it rained heavily.

METSPEAK

The pre-monsoon showers accompanied with thunderstorm, lighting and heavy rainfall cooled the city. According to meteorological department officials, the rainfall was recorded trace until evening with the wind speed recorded at 18 kmph. Heavy rainfall occurred later.