Bengaluru: Heavy downpours have flooded several areas of the city, inundating roads and homes in low-lying areas and uprooting hundreds of trees, an official said on Tuesday.
“In the past two days, over 300 trees have been uprooted due to heavy rain in Bengaluru,” Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara tweeted.
“To clear this (uprooted trees) and prevent inundation of low-lying areas, BBMP (city’s civic authority) has deployed zone-wise teams that are working on war footing to restore normalcy in the city,” added Parameshwara, who also holds the Bengaluru Development portfolio.
The city has received an average rainfall of 6.3 cm across the suburbs, with certain areas receiving a maximum rainfall of up to 20.6 cm, according to the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC).
The rains, which have been lashing the city since Sunday, have also flooded a few underbridges and roads, disrupting vehicular movement in the city.
The downpour has been intense over the past two days in the southern and south-western suburbs of the city, where the basements of several apartment buildings have been flooded.
After the overnight rain on Monday, Bellandur lakes, the largest of the lakes and tanks in the city, was seen covered in toxic foam. Similar froth had led to the lake catching fire on several occasions earlier.
The civic officials, who have been clearing the uprooted trees across the city, have been receiving distress calls from residents in the low-lying areas about over-flowing storm water drains and flooded basements.
The rains could continue across the city over the week due to an active south west monsoon, according to India Meteorological Department (IMD) Bengaluru Director C.S. Patil.
“Due to the active south west monsoon and air circulation over south interior districts, Bengaluru will continue to see heavy rains for the next four days,” Patil told IANS earlier.
“…BBMP officials are on high alert and people residing in low-lying areas should be cautious. #BengaluruRains,” tweeted Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy.
Heavy rain was also witnessed across the neighbouring districts of Bengaluru including Ramanagara, Tumakuru and Chamarajanagar.
[source_without_link]IANS[/source_without_link]