Bangalore Sweatbox

Rain halts city

Tree Crushes Father, Son To Death
Puttenahalli Turns Into Pool Again

The Times of India

Bangalore: Heavy rain and accompanying stormy winds felled many trees, flooded areas like Puttenahalli and created traffic jams in the city on Friday.

An 11-year-old boy and his father were crushed to death by a tree. Murugesh and his father Gullappa (45) were taking shelter in a temporary shed put up by road construction workers when the tree came crashing down, on Binny Crescent Road in JC Nagar around 6 pm. Gullappa’s other son Balu (9) sustained injuries in the leg.

Murugesh died on the spot, while Gullappa succumbed at hospital. The family is from Andhra Pradesh.

On Chamarajpet III Main Road, auto driver Krishnappa was grievously injured when a tree crashed on his vehicle. Passers-by shifted him to hospital where he is said to be out of danger. Another motorist escaped with minor injuries when a tree crashed near Infantry Road, the police said.

The BMP control room said two trees fell opposite CM Kumaraswamy's house in JP Nagar, a tree crashed into DGP Sial’s house on Nrupatunga Road, three trees fell at Jayanagar, two each at Brunton Road and Nandidurg Road, one each near M N Krishna Rao Park, on Promenade Road and M G Road. The horticulture department had recently conducted a survey to identify weak trees.

The rain, which has been lashing the city for the past three days, upset peak-hour traffic at most places. The traffic was held up at Assaye Road, near Ulsoor, for hours and it moved slowly on Richmond Road, Residency Road, Hosur Road, Sarjapur Road, Navarang junction and parts of Malleswaram.

Areas near Ulsoor were flooded. Resident Nauman Khader said, "The Promenade Layout Park is under water. It is up to 3 feet, and there is no outlet. In some low-lying layouts, houses were flooded long after the rain stopped. Construction material and debris have blocked the Ulsoor Lake drain, leading to flooding."

As always, Puttenahalli turned into a pool, with residents having to wade through 3 feet of water on roads. Right in front of Brigade Millennium, where the CM conducted a surprise inspection recently, residents couldn't cross the road. The BMP control room also received complaints from HAL III Stage.

Power shutdowns were reported from various parts of the city. Alice Mani, a resident of Kodichikkanhalli, said power goes out whenever there is rain and for the past three days there have been frequent cuts.

Till 8.30 pm, the city had received 33.6 mm of rain, the Met department said. Met department director A L Koppar explained, "The pre-monsoon rain is responsible for facilitating the monsoon. Rainfall in the second week of May is normal; this time, it has been in good measure. But the past four days have given out a peculiar situation: the skies are clear till the evening and then it pours."

posted by The Bangalorean @ 5/13/2006

#    posted by Mark Pritchard @ 6:00 PM