Banashankari gropes in dark for 2 days as tree fall on house

Bengaluru: The recent heavy rain brought darkness to some houses and water into others, but Sheela Suresh, 44, of 20th Cross, Banashankari II stage in south Bengaluru had a lot more on her hands. On Thursday afternoon, a huge tree fell on her house from across the road, mangling high-tension wires and destroying an electricity pole in the area. It rested there for two days and residents of the area spent more than 52 hours without power.Thursday’s squall uprooted around 35 trees across the city. Over 100 trees came down in the past three days. After the tree fell, hapless residents had a harrowing experience when they approached the authorities to get it removed and restore power supply. Bescom staff, who reached the spot the same night, realized it might cause a short circuit in the house and affect the area too. So they asked the residents to get the BBMP to cut the tree first. “We spent the whole of the next day calling BBMP officials. Finally, a group of men came but disturbed a beehive in the tree, and went away when the bees stung them. After they left, some neighbours held me responsible for the inconvenience caused because I didn’t allow Bescom staff to restore power supply on Thursday night,” Sheela told STOI. Students living the area, including Sheela’s daughter, are struggling to prepare for their examinations. On Saturday, after STOI intervened, BBMP forest cell officers reached the street and cut the tree following which Bescom officials restored power supply. Meanwhile, Koramangala has been grappling with a larger problem since Thursday. Four blocks —housing thousands of residents, offices and commercial establishments — have been in the dark for two days. Devesh R Agarwal, an industrialist and resident of Koramangala V Block, said, “The transformer in front of our house was out of service after the squall on Thursday afternoon. There has been no power since then. Bescom staff inspected it and said the wiring for Koramangala is completely damaged and has to replaced,” he said. He added, “Hotels and offices are totally dependent on generators. But that is not the solution. Moreover, it is causing pollution. Who will be held responsible for that? Koramangala is said to be one of the most developed areas in the city, but why hasn’t Bescom worked on improving the electricity infrastructure at all?” Residents rued that Bescom officials switch off their cellphones and do not respond to complaints after 9pm. “My office is in Koramangala V Block and I live in VIII Block. It’s manageable at office. But at home, I’ve been using an LED torch for the past two days. My parents came to Bengaluru for the first time on Friday night and are inconvenienced,” Sudip Banerjee, a resident of Koramangala VIII Block, said. The generators and invertors in many houses gave up by Saturday. The residents live in fear of another gusty storm and rain which might affect power supply again.
Men on the job: Bescom We have never faced such gusty winds. The wind speed ranged between 70 and 80 kmph, and uprooted many trees. It damaged our infrastructure in many places. Our men are out on the road whenever the rain starts and keep an eye on the problem areas. In Koramangala, major upgradation work has started. We’ve been able to restore power in Koramangala but that was intermittent. In Banashankari, we could not restore power till BBMP cut the tree.
Pankaj Kumar Pandey | MD, Bescom