Bengaluru residents upset as stormwater drains overflow after rains lash city

Rain

A compensation of Rs 25,000 will be provided for every family affected by flooding.

Prajwal Bhat

Bengaluru shop flooded

On Friday evening, Anwar noticed that water had entered the godown in his shop even though it had been raining only for a couple of hours. His shop —  Riding Gear —  selling plates and stickers, is located on the main road leading to Lalbagh in central Bengaluru. By 7 pm, Anwar had spent a frantic hour moving the important items in his godown to a nearby helmet shop located on higher ground. "It has been years since we had water enter our godown like this," Anwar says, standing in knee-deep water on Saturday morning.  "There is some work being done on the stormwater drain on this road. We don't know why the water entered the shop so quickly yesterday but it should be addressed immediately," says Anwar who has been living in the area since 1993. Anwar's shop was one of the several shops inundated in central and southern Bengaluru as heavy rains lashed the city on Friday, flooding over 650 houses and sweeping away vehicles in some areas.The spell of rain abated in the night and there was sunshine on Saturday morning, which meant that residents could pick up the pieces from the damage caused. Commercial complex in Bengaluru pumping out water on Saturday Near Lalbagh and in City Market, many automobile shops and other shops selling mattresses and tarpaulin were seen drying their wares outside the shops on Saturday morning. Pourakarmikas were seen clearing debris and cleaning the streets. "There was waterlogging in front of our shop after a stormwater drain overflowed here but it receded quickly, and we have been able to avoid any major hassle," Manjunath, a provision store manager near City Market told TNM Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, after a meeting convened to discuss the havoc wreaked by the rain, announced that a compensation of Rs 25,000 will be provided for every family affected by flooding. The Chief Minister also noted that encroachments in stormwater drains had exacerbated the flooding in the city. He announced that encroachments along stormwater drains in the city will be cleared mercilessly. "I have asked BBMP (civic body) officials to work honestly so that not even a rupee is misused. According to me, there are about 650-700 houses that might have been affected," Yediyurappa said. Pourakarmikas cleaned up debris after the rains in Bengaluru "We will see to it that there are no encroachments from now on, and take measures so that such incidents don't repeat. I'm assuring a permanent solution... all encroachments of stormwater drains will be cleared mercilessly, we will start the work in two to three days," he added. Revenue Minister R Ashoka said that there were some pending works to remove encroachments in stormwater drains in Bengaluru South and that this would be taken up immediately. The damage was highest in Hosakerehalli, where areas near the Bheemanakatte Lake were flooded. Overflowing stormwater drains also caused several areas in and around Hosakerehalli in the Padmanabhanagar Assembly segment to flood.  Elsewhere, flooding was also reported in Nayandahalli, Basavanagudi, Bommanahalli and Rajarajeshwari Nagar. Gurudatta Layout and Dattatreya Nagar, near Hosakerehalli, and some areas near Rajarajeshwari Nagar were the worst affected as many houses in the locality were flooded. The Chief Minister's office said that there were no casualties in the rainfall that occurred on Friday but with further rains predicted over the weekend, officials have doubled efforts to keep rescue personnel ready in the event of another heavy spell of rain. While rain stayed away on Saturday, weather department officials predicted that there will be further rains in the evenings over the weekend. The Chief Minister asked Bengaluru's civic body Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to be alert to the possibility of fresh rains.   

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Karnataka CM asks BBMP officials to be on alert as heavy rains predicted

Rains

The direction comes a day after several parts of city, especially south Bengaluru region had faced the brunt of heavy rains as stormwater drains overflowed.

PTI

With the Met department predicting heavy rains for two more days, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Saturday instructed the city civic body to stay alert. The direction comes a day after several parts of city, especially south Bengaluru region had faced the brunt of heavy rains as storm water drains overflowed, roads turned into rivulets and many houses were inundated. "Chief Minister had called the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP-city civic body) commissioner Manjunath Prasad and directed him to visit the areas that saw flooding. He also asked the commissioner to maintain alertness with the Met department predicting heavy rains today and tomorrow also," the CMO said in a statement. Yediyurappa, who is also in-charge of Bengaluru related affairs, has convened a meeting with BBMP officials later in the day to assess the situation and measures being taken by the civic body. Due to rains on Friday evening, while there was waterlogging in many parts of the city, areas such as Hosakerehalli, Nayandahalli, Basavanagudi, Bommanahalli, Rajarajeshwari Nagar and surrounding places were affected as several roads and houses in these areas were submerged under water. Gurudatta Layout and Dattatreya Nagar, near Hosakerehalli, some areas near Rajarajeshwari Nagar were the worst affected as many houses in the locality were flooded. Gushing waters even swept away some vehicles in the locality.  According to officials, several wards recorded more than 100 mm rainfall on Friday. With no rains this morning and water receding in the flooded areas, civic workers are carrying out the cleaning activities. Revenue Minister R Ashoka, who visited the affected areas, said he will be speaking to the Chief Minister regarding providing relief to those affected, and officials have been directed to carry out the survey work. Ashoka, who is also MLA from the city said, "Last night itself NDRF team was called in, who rescued three people. Water and food arrangements have been made for those in need." As the work on a large stormwater drain related to Bengaluru South region is underway, it resulted in flooding, he added.

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In Karnataka, COVID cases decline and recoveries surge

Controversy

The state saw 8749 recoveries and only 5356 positive cases in one day.

PTI

"Recoveries rose to 6,93,584 till date, with 8,749 discharged from hospitals across the state on Thursday, while 5,356 tested positive, taking the Covid tally to 7,93,907, including 89,483 active cases," said the state health bulletin on Friday. With 51 succumbing to the infection in a day, the death toll across the state rose to 10,821 so far, while 21 died of the virus in Bengaluru, taking its toll to 3,688 since the pandemic broke on March 8. Accounting for over 40 per cent of the state's cases, Bengaluru reported 2,688 fresh cases on Thursday, taking its tally to 3,21,054, including 56,763 active cases, while recoveries increased to 2,60,602, with 4,335 discharged in the last 24 hours. Among the 30 districts, Dakshina Kannada reported 329 new cases, followed by Davangere 298 and Mysuru 220. After Bengaluru, the highest number of discharges (894) were from Mysuru, followed by Dakshina Kannada 290, Hassan 267 and Tumakuru 254. Of the 936 patients in the intensive care units (ICUs) across the state, 370 are in Bengaluru district, 70 in Ballari, 52 in Dharwad, 45 in Chamarajanagar, 44 in Hassan and 29 in Kolar. Out of 1,083,56 tests conducted on Thursday, 21,615 were through rapid antigen detection and 86,741 through RT-PCR method. "Positivity rate declined to 4.94 per cent while case fatality rate plunged to 0.95 per cent across the state on a single day," the bulletin added. 

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Videos show how areas in Bengaluru’s Hosakerehalli were flooded within hours

Floods

With many places receiving 100 mm rainfall in just three hours starting from 4.30 pm, houses were flooded and even vehicles washed away.

TNM Staff

On Wednesday, as heavy rains lashed parts of Bengaluru, a portion of the Storm Water Drain (SWD) wall in Gurudatta Layout near Hosakerehalli collapsed. And just as the BBMP and BWSSB were engaged in repair works, more heavy rain came on Friday evening, leading areas near the Hoskerehalli lake to flood almost immediately. With many places receiving 100 mm rainfall in just three hours starting from 4.30 pm, houses were flooded and even vehicles washed away. Areas like Dattatreya layout, Gurudatta Layout and other areas near Bheemanakatte and Hosakerehalli lakes witnessed water levels rising rapidly. In a Facebook live, Ram Kashyap, the CTO of Terrace Garden showed how they became stranded as water levels rose. In the video, one could see vehicles floating and high water levels.  The BBMP called in a unit of the NDRF to rescue people who had been stranded in these areas. With Bengaluru expected to get more rains on Saturday, draining the water has become a priority for the BBMP. Watch a video that shows you the amount of flooding in Hosakerehalli Watch Ram Kashyap’s live     Posted by Ram Kashyap on Friday, October 23, 2020

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No free vaccine for people of Karnataka? Siddaramaiah asks Karnataka BJP

Politics

Senior Congress leaders Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar questioned the BJP for promising a free vaccine in Bihar, which is going to polls.

TNM Staff

Siddaramaiah: PTI photograph

Taking exception to the BJP's poll promise in Bihar of providing free COVID-19 vaccine if the party is voted to power, the Congress in Karnataka termed the party as "Opportunist BJP". Launching an attack through his Twitter handle, Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah asked, "There is no general election in Karnataka now. Does this mean Kannadigas will not get free vaccine?" There is no general election in Ktaka now. Does this mean Kannadigas will not get free vaccine? I hope 25 MPs, @CMofKarnataka & @BJP4Karnataka President has spine to demand free vaccine for Kannadigas also. Or will BJP President make way for another general election soon? 2/3 — Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) October 23, 2020 .@FinMinIndia @nsitharaman has made it clear that distribution of free vaccine is dependent on the electoral outcome in Bihar. Should pandemic not be a concern for Central govt? What does @narendramodi have to say about this? Is it 'Vote over Health & Life' for @BJP4India? 1/3 — Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) October 23, 2020 He also said that Karnataka Chief Minister Yediyurappa won't make such a promise to people in Karnataka. Pointing at Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who is a Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka, Siddaramaiah said, "Sitharaman has made it clear that distribution of COVID-19 vaccine entirely depends on the outcome of the Bihar elections. Should the pandemic not be a concern for the Union government? What does PM Narendra Modi have to say about this? Is it a vote over health and life for BJP?" Training his guns on the BJP MPs and other leaders from the party, Siddaramaiah said the state elected 25 BJP MPs and these MPs have no gumption to even make a formal demand to supply free vaccines to Karnataka. The BJP unit in Karnataka responded to Siddaramaiah's charges asking him to "remove hate Modi glasses". "Dear @siddaramaiah If you remove your 'Hate Modi Glasses' and look around, you will see that PM @narendramodi treats all Bharatiyas as equal. It is height of stupidity that you don't understand the difference between a poll manifesto and governance," the Karnataka BJP's Twitter account tweeted. Dear @siddaramaiah, If you remove your "Hate Modi Glasses" and look around, you will see that PM @narendramodi treats all Bharatiyas as equal. It is heights of stupidity that you don't understand difference between a poll manifesto & governance.#CONgressComedianSiddaramaiah https://t.co/SFeoM1loLa — BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) October 23, 2020 Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President DK Shivakumar demanded that the BJP at the Centre must come out in the open on whether the Union government has started the procurement of vaccines for this disease. "If they have, they could have at least used them to save their own leaders like Union Minister of State for Railways, Suresh Angadi. Union ministers of Sitharaman's stature should not have been part of such politicking," he said while campaigning for the party candidate in RR Nagara, which is going to the polls on November 3. Alongside RR Nagar, Sira constituency in Tumakuru will also be going to polls on the day. 

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Heavy rains, overflowing of stormwater drains lead to flooding in south Bengaluru areas

Rains

The havoc wreaked by the rains was severe in areas like Hosakerehalli, Gurudatta Layout, Dattatreya Nagar and Pramod Layout in Rajarajeshwari Nagar.

TNM Staff

A heavy spell of rain flooded houses and swept away vehicles in southern Bengaluru on Friday evening. The havoc wreaked by the rains was severe in areas like Hosakerehalli, Gurudatta Layout, Dattatreya Nagar and Pramod Layout in Rajarajeshwari Nagar. Along with the heavy rains, the stormwater drain breached around 4 pm in Rajarajeshwari Nagar, sending water gushing into houses, Times of India reported. According to the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC), Kengeri and Rajarajeshwari Nagar received over 100 mm of rainfall while at least 13 other locations in the city received over 50 mm rainfall. These localities were mostly concentrated in the southern part of Bengaluru, in areas like Basavanagudi, Vidyapeetha and VV Puram.  "There was a heavy spell of rain in the evening and this led to the streets overflowing with water. We have seen rains like this in our area but not this much in October. The stormwater drains overflowed a short while after the rains began," said Raj, a resident from Konanakunte.   Pourakarmikas clean up after the heavy rains in Bengaluru's Hosakerehalli Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) control rooms reported that they were flooded with distress calls from citizens. BBMP Commissioner Manjunath Prasad confirmed that National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Civil Defence officials were on hand to conduct rescue operations. He reportedly said that there are no casualties and water levels receded in the night on Friday, The Hindu reported. Traders in central Bengaluru areas like Chikpet, Sultanpet, Mamulpet and Old Tharagupet were also affected and had to navigate knee-deep waters. Severe water-logging was reported in 4th Block Koramangala, LIC Colony, ITI Layout, Banashankari 2nd stage and Kathriguppe. KSNDMC meteorologist Sunil Gavaskar told TNM that further rains are predicted in Bengaluru over the weekend, especially in the evenings.

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U.S. sets new single-day record for coronavirus infections

The latest surge comes ahead of what's expected to be an especially dangerous winter for the virus, with hospitalizations already on the rise.

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