Heavy rains continue to batter parts of Karnataka triggering severe waterlogging, and traffic and flight disruptions in Bengaluru. The situation remained grim on Tuesday as cars were seen floating in the Basavanagar area. Moreover, Bengaluru's luxurious villas were flooded, report said.
Karnataka is among the wettest states in India this year as it received 927.2 mm or 34 percent surplus rain between June 1 and September 4, News 18 reported. The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) had earlier warned of
water supply disruption in several areas of Bengaluru on Tuesday, PTI reported.
Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted more rainfall across the state on Tuesday. As per the
weather department, heavy showers are likely in Belgaum, Kopal, Bagalkot, Uttar Kannada, Dharwad, bellary, Hassan, Dakshin Kannada, Kodagu and Udupi among other districts.
Fire fighters evacuate residents from flooded Rainbow Drive Layout after heavy monsoon rains at Sarjapur, in Bengaluru, Monday. (Image: PTI)
Bengaluru rains | Viral videos, images
As
rainfall wreaked havoc in the IT city, memes outpoured on Twitter with several users sharing videos of inundated streets in Karnataka. Among them was a Congress leader who shared a video of flooded roads and said, "Poor infra and an unresponsive 40 percent Karnataka Govt have turned silicon valley into a lake! Residents cry out for help amidst the gushing flood waters."
Other images from the flood-hit state showed employees of IT companies using tractors to reach their offices in the Yemalur area of Bengaluru amid waterlogging due to heavy rains.
As many visuals went viral, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai accused the previous state governments of 'neglecting' Bengaluru. He said Rs 800 crore was spent on the remodelling of drains but that amount was not utilised properly, which is evident from the fact that the encroachment was not removed.
"I am telling you in clear terms that this way of functioning will not go on anymore. You have to change the way you work. You should not buckle under any pressure irrespective of who the person is," Bommai said.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams have been deployed to rescue people from an inundated residential society in Bengaluru.
'Rs 300 crore to manage flood situation in Bengaluru'
Amid the blame game, Bommai said the government has decided to release Rs 300 crore to manage the flood situation in the city. Also, the state government has decided to release Rs 600 crore to manage the rain and flood situation across the state, news agency PTI reported.
"To restore damaged infrastructure like roads, electric poles, transformers, schools etc, Rs 300 crore has been kept for Bengaluru alone," Bommai said. He also pointed out that Rs 664 is already available with deputy commissioners of various districts, while separate Rs 500 crore has already been sanctioned for building infrastructure.
A man carrying his child wades through the waterlogged Outer Ring Road after heavy monsoon rains, near Bellandur in Bengaluru (Image: PTI)
Woman dies due to electrocution
A woman allegedly died on Tuesday due to electrocution after she accidentally touched an electricity pole. The incident was reported in the Siddapura area near Marathahalli near Bengaluru. The incident happened when the 23-year-old woman was heading back from work and her two-wheeler broke down on the waterlogged road. As a result, she tried to save herself by holding an electric pole nearby when she got electrocuted.
(Edited by : Akriti Anand)
First Published: Sept 6, 2022 11:59 AM IST
