As heavy rains drown Bengaluru, lack of proper infrastructure adds to commuters' problems

Incessant heavy rain since Thursday night crippled normal life in several parts of Bengaluru, leaving in its wake water-logged roads, flooded houses and severe traffic jams. Low-lying areas, particularly Kodichikkanahalli and Bilekahalli, were the worst affected by the flooding as water entered houses following the breach of a lake.The Fire department deployed boats in Kodichikkanahalli to evacuate stranded people from their buildings, officials said. People were also seen fishing near the swelling lakes. Overflowing lakes and drains coupled with uprooted trees compounded woes for commuters. Adding to this was a traffic gridlock that left a long pile-up of vehicles on roads across the city, particularly on the routes leading to Electronics City, the IT hub.Officials said emergency service personnel were pressed into service since early morning and the control room of city civic body Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike was working round-the-clock to attend to the complaints. They said they were attending to complaints from distressed stranded residents in low-low lying areas using boats besides distributing food items.[caption id="attachment_2924026" align="alignnone" width="825"]

Traffic chaos at a flooded road after heavy rains on Friday. PTI[/caption]As all the major arterial roads that connects to the city and ring roads witnessed traffic snarls, office goers had a harrowing time in reaching their destination on time. The city's Bellandur Lake also saw the froth floating on it, spilling onto the roads, as it happens whenever there are heavy rains, causing inconvenience to commuters.The Namma Bengaluru Foundation, that focuses on the city's civic issues, says this is a wake-up call to ensure the water bodies are taken care of. "Over 500 years of Bengaluru's development, smartly managing the rainwater through interlinked lakes was seen as a key survival strategy. Unfortunately, over the last 40 years, we have ignored this vital role of our lakes," says Sridhar Pabbisetty, CEO of Namma Bengaluru Foundation.Speaking to reporters, Home Minister G Parameshwara  said that he has instructed traffic officials to be on field to ease traffic. Agreeing that lack of proper infrastructure was also adding to the problem, he said government was taking steps in this regard."I have spoken to Corporation Commissioner in the morning; he has deployed his staff at places. They are working to pump out water from clogged areas wherever possible." The commissioner along with his officials is also visiting the affected areas to oversee the work, he added.TS Sudhir, writing for Firstpost, said, "Though it has been raining off and on since 26 July in Bengaluru, Thursday night's heavy rainfall saw a large part of south Bengaluru turning into Venice. To make the visual complete, boats were indeed deployed by the fire department in localities like Kodichikknahalli. The Madiwala lake overflowed into the road and people actually came out with fishing nets to catch fish on the road."With the kind of images doing rounds on social media, Bengaluru cannot afford to ever fish for a compliment about being a livable city. Internationally, the city has already been defined by its frothing lakes and terrible traffic.But Bengalureans say Friday's flooding in parts of the city, is just a warning sign. If Bengaluru sees even half the rainfall that Chennai saw in December last year, the city would sink. Because Bengaluru, bursting at the seams, has not quite paid attention to keeping itself fit, thanks to the enormous amount of unregulated construction it sees.Social media was teeming with videos and images from different parts of the city.

Over the past two days, the Bellandur lake in the southeastern part of the city has not only been overflowing but has started frothing.According to The Times of India, the lake which has flooded the road leading to Yemalur Prestige Tech Park, has previously been in the news for its foaming and spewing froth all over the place."When the lake started frothing, they had created a slope at the lake's exit, to ensure that the foam did not leak. The water has now entered some of the gated houses, which are not at a higher elevation.The neighbouring Kariyammana Agrahara has also been flooded," a Yemalur resident was quoted as saying.Even as the local cops are trying to clear the clogged water drains, amusing as it may sound, Bangaloreans are catching fish in the overflowing lake water at 29th Main, BTM. Karnataka officer Abhishek Goyal tweeted photos.With inputs from PTI