Bengaluru: The city was hit by another hailstorm on Saturday, crashing trees and electric poles, and sending evening peak hour traffic into a tizzy. In just under two hours, the city received 35.6 mm of rain. Many areas reported power cuts as falling trees and branches snapped power lines.
Several homes in low-lying areas were flooded. “Our helplines are receiving complaints. People can SMS their complaints to 58888 if the lines are busy,” a Bescom official said.
Heavy evening showers followed by a burst of hailstorm in many areas of Bengaluru wreaked havoc across the city on Saturday. The heavy downpour brought the city to a grinding halt during the evening peak hours. The BBMP control room officials said that 17 trees were uprooted and 13 branches fell in different parts of the city.
Trees and branches were uprooted on Ali Asker Road, Cunningham Road, Queen’s Road, Cubbon Road, M.R Road, Church Street, Shanthinagar, among other areas. Four trees uprooted on K.R Road near Ulsoor alone.
The officials said that several homes in low-lying areas were flooded and rain water mixed with sewage entered 15 homes in K.P Agrahara. “Water gushed into many homes in Domlur, Indiranagar 13th Cross, Ejipura and surrounding areas,” they said.
Major junctions like Town Hall, J.C Raod, K.R Circle, Cubbon Park Road and Kamraj Road saw bumper-to-bumper traffic. According to the traffic control room officials, hundreds of commuters were stranded near Sultanpet, Shivananda Circle, Sony World Junction, Frazer Town and Chickpet Main Road.
Traffic snarls were seen in areas like Seshadripuram, Khoday Circle, Koramangala 80 Feet Road, Maharaja signal and surrounding areas where traffic was disrupted for over 45 minutes.
