Bengaluru sees rain and hail; 20 trees uprooted

BENGALURU: Heavy rain and thundershowers brought the city almost to a halt on Saturday evening with strong wind uprooting over 20 trees in several areas. A few localities in south and east Bengaluru also witnessed hailstorms. By night, the entire city was battered by rain.
According to officials at India Meteorological Department (IMD), the city received more than 15mm of rainfall until 10pm.Localities such as RR Nagar, Bommanahalli and parts of Bannerghatta Road saw hailstorms. BBMP officials said complaints of trees being uprooted kept pouring in.
"Till evening, trees were uprooted due to gusty wind in at least 20 localities. In more than six places, the trees had fallen on parked cars and other vehicles, resulting in severe damage. However, there were no complaints of flooding," said a senior BBMP official.
Trees were uprooted in JP Nagar, Jayanagar, KG Road, Gandhinagar, Kumaraswamy Layout, Chamarajpet, Shantinagar, RR Nagar, Hosakerehalli, Padmanabhanagar, Rajajinagar and other adjoining areas. Barely a few hours after being sworn in as minister, Ramalinga Reddy visited a few areas and instructed officials to clear the fallen trees and allow smooth flow of traffic. As trees fell on transmission lines, power supply was disconnected in several localities.
According to IMD, the city is likely to witness moderate to heavy spells of rain over the next 48 hours; same situation will prevail in many south-interior Karnataka districts.