Bengaluru: The city on Thursday recorded 53 mm rainfall, which is the highest in April in the last four years. Thursday's rain threw normal life out of gear with traffic affected across the city.
Indian Meteorological Department officials said that most parts of the state received good rainfall along with Bengaluru on Thursday. Two weather systems - an upper air cyclonic circulation over Gangetic plains and another between Telangana and Comorin area - caused the heavy downpour over the city.
They said that the two systems are still persistent and they may cause rainfall in isolated places. “On Friday, rain occurred late in the night. One may expect rains towards evening hours in the coming days, depending on the position of the systems. Some amount of cloud cover is expected over Bengaluru and it may reduce temperature by a degree or two," said an official. On Friday, the city recorded the maximum temperature of 33.4 deg Celsius.
Bengaluru receives pre-monsoon showers between March and May, which is the second wettest month in the city after September. “Theses showers are associated with higher wind speed and hailstorms. On Thursday, the city received about 5 cm rainfall in under three hours," he said.
Rain washes up city’s woes
Muni Venkatappa, 55, a security guard and resident of Yeshwantpur Industrial Area, was trapped under the rubble of a wall in the compound and died. Rajshekaraiah, 52, another security guard at Seshadripuram Law College, died while he was pumping out accumulated water on the College premises. The BBMP administrator, T.M. Vijay Bhaskar, visited the spot and announced a compensation of Rs 50,000 to the families of the deceased.
The city received 53 mm of rainfall in a span of four hours and was accompanied by gusty winds at a speed of 47 km per hour which is 12 times the normal wind speed. The heavy downpour accompanied by hailstones threw normal life out of gear across the city on Thursday evening. Hailstones poured at Kamanahalli, Indiranagar, Basavanagudi, New Thippasandra, Lingarajapuram and Shanthinagara.
People had a nightmarish experience going back home, due to water accumulation and poor visibility. All vehicles were crawling on the street said sources in the BBMP control room. A car was stuck at KR Road, as water had entered into it and this caused all traffic to come to a grinding halt for nearly an hour. Fire and Emergency personnel pulled the car out and this helped ease the traffic, said sources.
Water gushed into several low lying houses depriving people of their sleep. The occupants of these houses at Mahalakshmi Layout, Ejipura, Madiwala, Kanteerava Studio and Nandini Layout had to empty out water throughout the night. The BBMP control room received over 40 complaints of tree uprooting and deployed gangmen to clear the trees and ensure the free flow of traffic.
Trees were uprooted at C.V Raman Nagar, Indiranagar, Kadugodi, Jayanagar, Maruthi Seva Nagar, Sampangiramnagar, Ballari Road, Mathikere Road and Chamarajpet, said sources. Even BMTC buses were cancelled due to the heavy traffic. This forced people to use alternative services like auto and taxis.
The deceased security guard, Rajashekharaiah, hailed from Tumakuru. He switched on the water pump to remove water from the parking area when electricity surged through the waters, killing him on the spot.
“The incident is suspected to have occurred around 3.30 am on Friday. It came to light when the security guard on morning shift came for duty around 7 am. He immediately alerted us and the fire brigade officials. We rushed to the spot,” the police said.
Administrator gets taste of rain
The newly appointed BBMP administrator and commissioner had a taste of pre-monsoon showers and the chaos caused by it. Following the heavy downpour which caused damage to private and public properties, the BBMP commissioner G. Kumar Naik and administrator T. M. Vijay Bhaskar visited rain hit areas on Friday, and assured people of a solution. Mr. Naik visited JC Nager, where storm water had entered 200 houses.
During the inspection of an apartment, engineers were directed to engage more pumps and heighten the drain wall. All zonal joint commissioners and chief engineers were asked to take precautionary measures to prevent any rain related damage.
Bengalureans hail downpour
After weeks of heat and sweat, it was time for Bengalureans to pick hailstones and share the pictures with their relatives and friends! Thursday's downpour may have brought the city on its knees, but those at home were not complaining.
"My brother is studying in Chennai and I thought it was time to rub the salt by sending him the hailstone pictures. It was fun to listen to him cribbing about the heat in that city, while I was enjoying the rain," said Swathi, a resident of Banashankari. Many took out vessels, bowls and even bottles to fill up hailstones.
Surprise! Power men on their toes till morning
It was an action-packed night for BESCOM officials as the control room received more than a 1,000 calls in just a few hours. As complaints kept pouring in till early Friday morning, Bescom officials rushed to address the issues.
Power supply in Indiranagar, Kanakapura Road, Vasanth Nagar and R.T Nagar was affected after several trees and branches fell on power lines. It was sure a relief for Bengalureans, who were glad to see the men working at that hour.
