RAIN FURY: Wall falls, trees uprooted, Poor civic management sinks B'luru amid incessant rains

NT Correspondent Bengaluru: The city continued to reel from the impact of Tuesday's deluge with poor drainage leaving the roads inundated on Wednesday too hampering vehicular and commuter movement despite schools being closed and IT companies told to work remotely. Bengaluru received 66 millimeters of rainfall on Tuesday, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The HAL Airport recorded 89.3 mm of rainfall and the Kempegowda International Airport recorded 9.7mm as of 8.30 am on Wednesday. The spotlight was on Manyata Tech Park near Hebbal and the Kendriya Vihar Apartments in Yelahanka. A construction site adjacent to the tech park was heavily flooded, according to visuals shared on social media. It may also be a classic case of nature taking its revenge as the area where the tech park exists used to be a lake bed, and a valley connecting Nagawara, Hebbal and Yelahanka lake.

A minor landslide reportedly occurred at the construction site while a wall collapsed due to the flooded road adjacent to it. This posed questions on the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP) role in allowing such constructions in a sensitive zone. A spokesperson from Embassy had clarified that the said wall is not part of their properties. Kendriya Vihar in Yelahanka, once home of former president APJ Abdul Kalam, wears a similar look - flooded complex, and residents, who are mostly retired central government officers pondering on their future. BBMP chief commissioner Tushar Girinath visited the spot, and said that the 4-feet deep water is being pumped out. Despite having luxury vehicles parked all over the place, residents had to rely on two tractors to get to their destinations. Residents and activists have criticised the developers for haphazard constructions very close to lakes. As per records from the BBMP, 47 trees have fallen due to rains, and all of them have been attended to. One of them had fallen on the track of Metro’s Purple line at 6.15 am on a stretch between Swami Vivekananda Road and Indiranagar. The BMRCL) therefore had to curtail services for some time.