Man washed away as rain lashes city

Man washed away as rain lashes city

Bengaluru: A man was washed away in a flash flood as heavy rain brought Bengaluru to a halt late on Saturday.

Rajkumar (24), a JCB operator, fell into a stormwater drain in Kurubarahalli, near Basaveshwaranagar. He remained untraced till midnight as rescue operations were delayed by the persistent downpour. Mayor G Padmavathi, who visited the spot, said that the rescue operations had been suspended and would resume in the morning.

Several parts of the city plunged into darkness, and trees were uprooted in many places. Blustery winds blew away a part of the metal roof at the MG Road Metro station.

The pre-monsoon showers began around 8 pm and continued till late in the night.
The rain brought at least a dozen trees down, and caused a traffic gridlock. This was the second heavy downpour in three days.

According to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), trees were uprooted near in Malleswaram, Dollars Colony, Benson Town, RT Nagar, Hebbal, Yeshwantpur, and Vijayanagar.

Many vehicles were damaged. The BBMP said it had received no complaints of flooding, barring in low-lying areas such as Laggere.

The downpour plunged a number of neighbourhoods into darkness. Koramangala, Jayanagar, Wilson Garden, Sampangirama Nagar, JP Nagar and Shanthinagar were among the areas that experienced power outages from 8 pm onwards.

Power supply was also disrupted in Kadugodi and Whitefield. A Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) official said he couldn’t say when power supply would be restored. It had received 4,356 power disruption complaints.

The maximum temperature in the city was just 32.7 degrees Celsius and minimum 21.8 degrees Celsius.

Sundar M Metri, in-charge director, India Meteorological Department (IMD), said the weather would be pleasant over the next couple of days with rain expected in the evenings. Sunday and Monday will see a maximum of 35 degrees Celsius and a minimum of 22 degrees Celsius.

Stuck on road, many miss flights

Ballari Road was blocked after trees collapsed near Cauvery cinema and Mehkri Circle. Thousands of vehicles, including those bound for the airport, remained stuck for two hours.

Many could not reach the airport in time for their flights. A Kempegowda International Airport spokesperson said at least two flights from Mumbai — SpiceJet flight and Jet Lite — had been diverted to Chennai by 10 pm.