Lakes, homes, roads heavily flooded; cloudburst & continuous rain spare none

NT Bengaluru: On a sunny Tuesday afternoon in an otherwise wet and gloomy week, Suresh arrived at Tatanagar near the Doddabommasandra Lake in the city after the overnight deluge led to roads getting inundated. “My brother Ramesh lives here, He has no access to power, drinking water or food,” said Suresh, adding that he wanted to check on his pllght. “However, with knee deep water all around, Ramesh advised me not to come to the place. 'It is disappoining but that seems to be the best option in the current circumstances,” Suresh said with a sigh. Ramesh's case is no isolated one. Residents in North Bengaluru were restricted to their homes amidst a cloudburst overnight which led to the rainfall jumping to 100 millimeters. Many residents could be seen draining and sweeping out the water which had entered their homes.

They blame the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) for not proviidng a fool-proof drainage system in the area, home to many lakes and valleys. By noon on Tuesday, the water had receded to around 2 feet. “It was double that level last night,” said Manjunath, who resides at 8th Cross, Tatanagar. “The check gate of the lake was overwhelmed with water coming from two directions, which prompted the water to overflow,” Manjunath claimed. Residents of the same street had to face a nauseating ordeal, as sewage mixed with storm water entered homes.

In Rizwan Ulla’s home, daughter Hasina Bhanu and neighbour Harish were involved in clearing out the water which had entered the bedroom. “The rain started by 9 pm. By the looks of it, we expected heavy rainfall, but with the road inundated to the extent of six feet, it was really a shocking sight!,” said Rizwan. He claimed that the side drain connecting the Rajakaluve gets halved (from eight feet to four feet) when it crosses Balaji Layout.