Friday, September 14, 2007
Monsoon continues
Times of India, 15 September 2007
Rain spells trouble for Bangalore
BANGALORE: "More spells of rain, and we are done. We fear the worst as lakes are swelling and the city's drains can take no more." That was BBMP commissioner S Subramanya's exasperated cry on Friday evening as flooded Bangalore convulsed in torrential rain.
The BBMP boss's statement reflected the harried citizens' plight. Unrelenting rain for the past three days has unleashed deluge and devastation, bringing the famed IT city to its knees. On the action front, over 5,500 BBMP men have been standing guard at the worst-hit and vulnerable spots. But senior BBMP officials are sure they're waging a losing battle: "A brimming Madivala Lake, and the weak stormwater drains in Nayandahalli and Bhadrappa Layout can do us in."
The Central Silk Board (CSB) Junction, from where Hosur Road takes on the hues of IT corridor, was in sheets of water. Office-goers were stuck in this mess for at least four hours. Vinita S, a software professional who started from home at 7 am, was still negotiating her way at the CSB Junction even at 12 noon.
Cars, buses, bikes -- you name them -- and they were all inching through an inundated Hosur Road, while a breached Madivala Lake arrested traffic in the entire grid. Traffic came to a standstill, and the pile-up continued even as the BBMP men tried draining out water with 30 pumpsets.
The nonstop rain on Thursday night brought alive the nightmare of 2005 floods. Water from the swelling lakes, breached drains and valleys in Bommanhalli, Puttenahalli, Sarakki and Madivala invaded homes. At least six wall-collapse incidents were reported, 35 trees fell on houses and roads in Vyalikaval, Basaveshwaranagar, Bhadrappa Layout and Jayanagar. All this led to hours of gridlock.
For those residing in Bhadrappa Layout, Nayandahalli, Jayanagar, BTM Layout, HSR Layout Sectors VI and VII, Marutinagar, it was a night-long ordeal to empty out the water gushing into their homes. Overflowing drains in Vrishbhavati Valley brought sewage into nearby homes, while apartments complained of waterlogging in the basements.
Monsoon rains continue in mid-September
Deccan Herald, 15 Sep 2007
DH News Service,Bangalore:
It's pouring woes in Bangalore. Three days of heavy downpour has thrown normal life completely out of gear, marooning hundreds of houses, damaging several structures and bringing traffic to a grinding halt. The rains have claimed two more lives -- one in Nayandanahalli and another in HSR Layout, taking the death toll during the last 48 hours to four.
No end to misery
There seems to be no end to the City's misery. The Met Department has warned of heavy to very heavy rains in the next 24 hours. The City received 200 mm of rain in the last 36 hours, the highest during this season.
Incessant rains on Friday also played a spoilsport for Ganesha festival and markets in the City wore a deserted look.
A 25-year-old man, Shastri, was electrocuted in HSR Layout. Shastri, a car driver, was checking the electric wiring in his house after a disruption in the power supply at 9 pm on Thursday when tragedy struck.
In another incident, an unidentified woman was washed way in a drainage of Nayandanahalli on Friday morning. Hundreds of houses in over 166 low-lying areas are flooded with water.
The worst affected areas are in the southern part of the City–Madivala, Iliyasnagar, J P Nagar 15th Main, Hosur Road, Koramangala –where water overflowed from 7 lakes -- Arakere, Begur, Puttenahalli, Lalbagh, Madivala, Hulimavu and Sarakki.
The overflowing water from the lakes brought traffic to a standstill on the busy Hosur Road -- from the Central Silk Board junction till Bommanahalli. With the water level on the road rising, people began moving about in coracles.
Many motorists abandoned their two-wheelers and four-wheelers on the footpath and walked home on foot.
The scene on Hosur Road was similar to what had happened in October 2005 when heavy rains pounded the city.
BBMP missing
Yet, the BBMP remained a mute spectator.
"It is not safe to stop overflowing water from these lakes. If we stop it by constructing bunds, they may breach which could be more dangerous. It is safe as long as excess water flows out of the lakes," BBMP Commissioner S Subramanya said.
Several low-lying areas along the Mysore Road too were flooded. Padarayanapura, Kamakshipalya, K P Agrahara, Gowdanapalya, Pantarapalya, Muneshwara Block and several others took the brunt of the rain havoc. Traffic on Mysore Road, from K R Market till Jnanabharati junction, crawled at a snail's pace through the day.
Water-logging was a common scene on almost all roads across the city.
Besides claiming two lives, four houses collapsed in Prashanthnagar, Saneguravanahalli, Shakambarinagar and Nayandanahalli in the rains. As many as 32 trees and several power poles were uprooted.
However, the commissioner defended the BBMP, saying that the situation goes out of control whenever rainfall exceeds 80 mm. "I am not saying that we cannot do anything. We are taking all necessary steps to mitigate the woes and prevent further damage," he stated.
He also denied that two people died due to the rains. "Deaths were not due to rains. Reasons may be different," he said.
Meanwhile, Health Minister R Ashok, who is also in-charge of Bangalore, said 60 teams with 50 personnel each have been constituted for relief operations in the rain-affected areas.
HANDS-OFF LEADERS
Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and Bangalore Urban district in-charge Minister R Ashok both chose to monitor rain relief operations from the comfort of their offices rather than visit the affected areas.
Mr Kumaraswamy, who also holds the Bangalore City Development portfolio, held a review meeting at "Krishna" and issued instructions to officials. He wanted the BBMP Commissioner to be available at his office 24/7. Mr Ashok visited the BBMP control room.
The City MLAs too chose to stay indoors rather than go out and meet the people and listen to their grievances.
