Rain continues to pain city residents

Ahna Prakash | NT
Bengaluru

A woman died and a young man was reportedly washed away following the incessant rain on Friday night in Bengaluru. Sixty-year-old Muniyamma died when a compound wall fell on her house made of tin sheets in Kaveri Nagar. According to her neighbours, she worked at a factory. Her son and daughter-in-law were also injured in the incident. A young civil engineer, Mithun, 24, residing near K.R. Puram, was washed away in the floods due to overflowing of the Kalkere Lake. Mithun has been staying in a rented house with his friends for the past six months in Bengaluru. He hails from Shivamogga and was employed in the city.

Low-lying areas such as Kalakere and KV Layout in KR Puram got submerged entirely in knee-deep waters. The houses in the area were flooded with sewage and muddy rain water. “The BWSSB has started the pipeline work, and because of that, there is clogging of the storm water drain. The silt and garbage stopped the excess rainwater from entering the drain. The streets got waterlogged and rain water entered our houses. Kalki Lake is also nearby, and that was overflowing yesterday,” said Gautam, a neighbour of the victim.

The residents also informed us that this was the first time such an accident happened due to rainfall. The authorities reached only in the morning to carry out relief works. Local MLA Byrathi Basavaraj also reached the spot for inspection. He promised to extend every help to the affected residents. He also pulled up the civic authorities concerned.

According to the residents on Friday around 11 pm, the heavy rain flooded K.R. Puram. “As the rain water started entering our houses, Mithun went out to salvage his bike which was about to get carried away by the flowing waters. But due to strong current he himself slipped and fell,” one of Mithun’s neighbours told News Trail. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams and the officials from civic agencies started looking for Mithun, but have not spotted him yet.

Sai Layout worst hit

At least 250 houses in KR Puram were said to have been affected by the flash flood. Sai Layout was one of the worst-affected. Several people were reportedly got stuck inside their homes as the knee-deep rainwater surrounded their houses.

A team of rescue forces, the police officials and the civic workers tried to drain out the water from the area. “Water entered my house at night, and I opened the door because I had to shift my bedridden mother to somewhere else. As soon as I opened the door, the water current washed off my mobile phone, laptops and other things.Every time it rains, this happens,” says Shyam, a resident of Sai Layout.

The surrounding areas including Mahadevapura zone also reported around 90 to 180 mm of rainfall on late Friday. At least 24 twowheelers were damaged after a compound wall of a parking lot belonging to a theatre in K.R. Puram collapsed. Sources also said that a compound wall of Nimhans near Wilson Garden reportedly collapsed damaging a parked car.