Report from Times of India, 24 Oct 2005
BANGALORE: Saturday night's rainfall of 121 mm was a strange leveller — the pavement dweller and the Ford commuter battled it out.
Walls crashed on swish apartments and in low-lying areas, important arterial roads were inundated with four-feet water, citizens in as many as 40 areas stayed home, mopping the watery mess, simply because they could not possibly step out.
The most important roads in the city have been blocked — Mysore Road, Hosur Road, Magadi Road. Hosur Road, a national highway connecting important cities, the lifeline from East coast to west coast, buzzing with techies, is in limbo.
The 121 mm of rain has battered any signs of technology from the area. To start with, 7,500 phone lines with numbers starting 2573, have snapped. BSNL officials reckon it would take at least four days to restore order.
As for Bommanahalli, Begur Road, Sarjapur Road, Whitefield were all flooded. There was one confirmed death: the body of Sohail, a five-year-old boy, was found in a dug-up trench at Kalasipalya police limits.
Lakes in the peripheral areas of Bangalore (Nagawara, Puttenahalli, Begur) have overflown dangerously and gushed into homes at Nagawara, Hebbal, J P Nagar, Jakkur. Nagawara Lake was overflowing like a waterfall, according to residents.
The BCC control room on Saturday night received some 100 calls, with reports of flooding at Jogupalya, Promenade Road, Indiranagar, Cambridge Layout, Domlur, drain blockage at Vijaynagar pipeline, Madivala, Banaswadi.
Electric pumps to draw out water were the order of the night and subsequently, day, as cellars and basements in different parts of the city were inundated rendering citizens stranded in their houses and offices.
The compound wall ensconcing Shanti Park apartments crumbled and some nine cars were reduced to smithereens.
No damp squib this :
October is a few millimetres away from overpowering rain statistics and records. The highest-ever annual rainfall recorded in Bangalore stands at 1432 mm in 1998. Cut to now, as of Oct. 23, 2005, the rainfall has clocked 1401 mm already, as against the normal of 970 mm. There’s more — the highest ever recorded for October was 522 mm in 1956.
"We are very close to these statistics right now, another spell of 50 mm rainfall and it would be a historic rainfall,” declares Met department director A L Koppar. For, October has already seen 474 mm rainfall.
Review meeting :
After the damage, the meeting. CM Dharam Singh has called for a review meeting of city MLAs, MPs, civic heads, on Monday. On Sunday, the CM instructed mayor Narayanswamy to submit a comprehensive report and said extra funds would be released, if need be.
12-HR DOWNPOUR : Bangalore, Mandya, Mysore Chamarajnagar dists pounded
RECORD DELUGE : Bangalore sees 121 mm, the highest rainfall this calendar
GREAT DISCONNECT: Over 7,500 phones dead, power off, highways blocked
To add to this.. a few photos..
Bommanhalli flooded!!
Wipro M2 Office, Hosur Road
Cubbon Park
Silk Board junction near flyover
Walls crashed on swish apartments and in low-lying areas, important arterial roads were inundated with four-feet water, citizens in as many as 40 areas stayed home, mopping the watery mess, simply because they could not possibly step out.
The most important roads in the city have been blocked — Mysore Road, Hosur Road, Magadi Road. Hosur Road, a national highway connecting important cities, the lifeline from East coast to west coast, buzzing with techies, is in limbo.
The 121 mm of rain has battered any signs of technology from the area. To start with, 7,500 phone lines with numbers starting 2573, have snapped. BSNL officials reckon it would take at least four days to restore order.
As for Bommanahalli, Begur Road, Sarjapur Road, Whitefield were all flooded. There was one confirmed death: the body of Sohail, a five-year-old boy, was found in a dug-up trench at Kalasipalya police limits.
Lakes in the peripheral areas of Bangalore (Nagawara, Puttenahalli, Begur) have overflown dangerously and gushed into homes at Nagawara, Hebbal, J P Nagar, Jakkur. Nagawara Lake was overflowing like a waterfall, according to residents.
The BCC control room on Saturday night received some 100 calls, with reports of flooding at Jogupalya, Promenade Road, Indiranagar, Cambridge Layout, Domlur, drain blockage at Vijaynagar pipeline, Madivala, Banaswadi.
Electric pumps to draw out water were the order of the night and subsequently, day, as cellars and basements in different parts of the city were inundated rendering citizens stranded in their houses and offices.
The compound wall ensconcing Shanti Park apartments crumbled and some nine cars were reduced to smithereens.
No damp squib this :
October is a few millimetres away from overpowering rain statistics and records. The highest-ever annual rainfall recorded in Bangalore stands at 1432 mm in 1998. Cut to now, as of Oct. 23, 2005, the rainfall has clocked 1401 mm already, as against the normal of 970 mm. There’s more — the highest ever recorded for October was 522 mm in 1956.
"We are very close to these statistics right now, another spell of 50 mm rainfall and it would be a historic rainfall,” declares Met department director A L Koppar. For, October has already seen 474 mm rainfall.
Review meeting :
After the damage, the meeting. CM Dharam Singh has called for a review meeting of city MLAs, MPs, civic heads, on Monday. On Sunday, the CM instructed mayor Narayanswamy to submit a comprehensive report and said extra funds would be released, if need be.
12-HR DOWNPOUR : Bangalore, Mandya, Mysore Chamarajnagar dists pounded
RECORD DELUGE : Bangalore sees 121 mm, the highest rainfall this calendar
GREAT DISCONNECT: Over 7,500 phones dead, power off, highways blocked
To add to this.. a few photos..
Bommanhalli flooded!!
Wipro M2 Office, Hosur Road
Cubbon Park
Silk Board junction near flyover
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