130mm rainfall in 12 hours brings Bengaluru to its knees

BENGALURU: Battered by 130mm rainfall in about 12 hours from Sunday evening till dawn on Monday, Bengaluru is scrambling to count its losses: Three dead, 500 homes flooded, 20-plus lakes ready to overflow, dozens of streets in tony areas reduced to waterways, flooded underpasses and flyovers closed to traffic, vehicular movement suffering miles-long disruption for hours and public bus services sputtering to a halt in several areas of the city.

Heavy rain-triggered by convergence of two low-pressure systems and accompanied by intense thunderstorms-pounded south, north and eastern parts of the city. IMD has forecast more heavy rainfall for the next five days.

As distraught citizens picked up the pieces to start a fresh week, Greater Bengaluru Municipal Corporation chief commissioner Maheshwar Rao termed it the second-highest rainfall in a decade and said, "Sometimes, things get out of hand - we are working on it."

Shashikala D, 32, working as a sweeper in a private company in Whitefield, died after the compound wall of the building that housed their office collapsed. A 63-year-old man and 12-year-old boy were electrocuted when they tried to pump out water from the portico in their south Bengaluru house. Several tech corridors in South Bengaluru, including Koramangala, BTM Layout, HSR Layout and Marathahalli came to a standstill due to flooding.

"Deeply concerned by rain havoc and I've been in constant touch with officers. The issues we face today have been ignored for years, across govts and administrations. The only difference now is we are working to solve them. Not with temporary fixes but with long-term, sustainable solutions," said deputy CM and city's development minister DK Shivakumar.