157 trees damaged in rain, cleanup intensifies in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: A day after intense thunderstorms and rain battered the city, Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) reported widespread damage caused by fallen trees and branches. Officials said 157 trees and 228 branches had fallen till Friday evening, disrupting traffic and damaging infrastructure.Bengaluru West City Corporation recorded the highest number of tree falls at 59, followed by Central City Corporation with 50. GBA chief commissioner Maheshwar Rao directed city corporations to speed up post-storm cleanup work. He instructed civic teams to ensure smaller branches, leaves and debris left behind after forest department removes large tree trunks are cleared without delay to prevent inconvenience to commuters and residents.Rao also directed officials to scientifically process the green waste generated during the cleanup. Corporations have been asked to shred fallen branches and leaves and utilise them for composting instead of dumping them as waste.