Bengaluru residents woke up to inundated roads on Saturday morning as heavy rains, accompanied by thunderstorms, pounded various parts of the city through the night.
Traffic movement was disrupted on the Bengaluru-Mysuru highway between Kengeri and Kumbalagodu after Kanmanike lake overflowed on Saturday morning. Traffic police officials said hundreds of passengers travelling between Mysuru and Bengaluru were stuck in traffic for more than four hours before civic agencies cleared the waterlogged road.
Vehicle users taking Mysuru road route had a difficult time. Those travelling from Bengaluru to Mysuru, Hassan, Kodagu and Mandya were stuck in the traffic for a long time on Saturday morning.
Belliappa K.V., a resident of the city who was traveling to Kodagu, was stuck on Mysuru Road near Kumbalgod for more than three hours. “I was on the way to Gonikoppal from Bengaluru. As usual, I started from my home in Banaswadi at 5 a.m., but was stuck in the traffic on Mysuru road for more than three hours. This is the first time I have been stuck in traffic so early in the morning. I usually took this route. This is the first time I saw flooding on the roads.”
A farmer from Inorupalya in Bengaluru-Mysuru road blamed the expressway construction for the water overflow from the nearby lakes. Speaking to The Hindu, Nagaraju, said, “The place has turned into a lake and is creating great inconvenience to farmers and others. The road is ruined and we cannot even reach our houses. First, one engineer built the toll booth at a height. Then another engineer came and lowered the level. Now, it is filled with water and there is no system for water to drain off.”
The bridge connecting Inorupalya has been damaged due to the heavy flooding at the village, according to residents. According to India Meteorological Department (IMD), Bengaluru city recorded 21.1 mm of rainfall, while Bengaluru International Airport recorded 30.4 mm of rains and HAL Airport recorded 65.9 of rainfall till 8.30 am on Saturday.
Bengaluru has so far received 184.4 mm of rainfall in August. More rainfall has been forecast for BBMP areas.
Meanwhile, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP’s) control room did not receive many rain-related calls on Friday night and Saturday morning, except for flooded roads in Shanthinagar and Bilekahalli. Control room officials said one tree fall incident had been reported from Ejipura and there was no rain-related damage in the city.
