Breather from rain in Bangalore

BANGALORE: Monday offered a breather for Bangalore, a day after rains pounded the city leading to flooding in many areas. A short spell of afternoon showers in the peripheral areas on Monday didn't add up much to the woes of residents in the flooding-prone areas but many, still, spent the day clearing water from their homes.
BBMP officials spent the day monitoring the relief operations, all the while pointing at the encroachment of storm water drains as the main cause for flooding in many areas.In the city, the Sunday showers' impact was more in areas like Hennur Bande, Chamundi Nagar in RT nagar and parts of Shivajinagar. "In Chamundi nagar, major portions of the storm water drain have been encroached. Garbage being dumped in the drain has added to the problems,'' Puttaswamy, assistant commissioner, Bangalore east zone, said.
Though the water receded in the affected areas on Monday, damages were reported in about five houses in the Hennur area and about 25 houses in Chamundi nagar. Major roads, including Bannerghatta road and Hosur road, had water-logged stretches as late as on Monday afternoon. Traffic on these stretches took a minor hit, especially in the peak morning hours, with motorists avoiding the water pools and, in turn, leading to traffic pile-ups.
For motorists taking interior stretches on the flanks of these roads, it was a familiar story of woes. They had to wade through long, slushy stretches and the dumped construction material in many parts of these roads added to the worries. With the rains keeping away on Monday, it was some respite for the BBMP officials as well. "There were complaints with regard to water-logging in some areas but since there was no further rain, we could keep things under control ,'' said B S Shekharappa, joint commissioner, Bommanahalli zone.
MINIMAL IMPACT
The late afternoon showers on peripheries of the core city areas hit some of the relief works but the officials maintained that the impact was minimal. Areas like Hebbal reported water-logging , while residents in Hennur and Banaswadi were busy clearing the watery mess. According to the BBMP, about 200 houses in the Hennur area had water entering them. "There were mild showers again, at around 3 pm but since the vulnerable points were already identified and measures taken, we could minimize the impact,'' Virupaksha Mysore, joint commissioner, Byatarayanapura zone, said. K R Ramakrishna, assistant commissioner, Bangalore south zone, said relief works taken up from overnight continued through the day and no major complaints were reported.