The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Two killed, five injured in rain-related incidents

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Friday, Sep 14, 2007
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Karnataka - Bangalore

Two killed, five injured in rain-related incidents

Karnataka Bureau

Government mulling long-term relief measures in low-lying areas, says Minister

Ten teams formed to pump water from low-lying areas
Traffic comes to a standstill at Dairy Circle

— Photo: K. Bhagya Prakash

Rain fury: Vehicles wading through water on Victoria Road in Bangalore following heavy rain on Thursday.

BANGALORE: A woman and her son were killed and five persons, including a seven-year-old girl, injured in four cases of wall collapse following heavy rain in the city on Wednesday night.

The police said the wall of Shankarachari’s house, built of mud, at Maruthinagar on Mysore Road gave way around midnight. Shankarachari’s wife, Munilakshmamma (46), and son Eshwarachari (23), daily wage labourers, were killed on the spot when the debris fell on them. Shankarachari was injured. The Byatarayanapura police have registered a case.

In another incident reported from Kumaraswamy Layout police station limits, four people were injured after the walls of two houses collapsed following the downpour. The police said that around 10 p.m. on Wednesday a 100-foot-long wall of an apartment complex collapsed and fell on two adjoining houses at 2nd Stage, Chandranagar. The walls of the two houses caved in, injuring four persons. The police gave their names as Madhushree (7), Krishnappa (70), Sreenivasa (30) and Venkatesh (35).

Thursday’s downpour saw water-logging in several low-lying areas such as Ganapathipura in Bommanahalli, near Wipro campus, Bannerghatta Road, parts of J.P. Nagar and Jayanagar. Anil Kumar, a resident of Aswhini Layout in Ejipura said: “Once it started raining at 8 p.m., water flowed into our underground sumps. Huts in Indira Gandhi slum nearby were flooded.” Ponappa, a resident of Victoria Layout, said: “The authorities have dug up the road for some drain work. Every time it rains, even a small shower, and the road gets flooded.” The BWSSB Control rooms received complaints from Banashankari, Town Hall and City Market. Tree falls were reported in Basavanagudi and Jayanagar 3rd block. Senior officials of the BBMP, including Commissioner S. Subramanya, supervised the control rooms. Additional Commissioner K.R. Srinivas said: “The number of vulnerable spots have come down to nine. BBMP staff is on alert. We are responding to the problems as soon as we come to know about them.”

Traffic jam

Traffic came to a standstill at Dairy Circle on Hosur Road for nearly an hour. “The rain had held up traffic at this junction. We could see no policeman to regulate the traffic. It started moving only after two Samaritans took up the task of directing the traffic,” said Nandini S., a resident of the area.

Health and Family Welfare Minister R. Ashok, who is in-charge of Bangalore city, on Thursday said the BBMP had constituted 10 rescue teams to pump water from the low-lying areas in the wake of Wednesday’s downpour.

Speaking to reporters after the BJP Legislature Party meeting, he said each team had been provided with high capacity pumps. The teams would work round the clock. The teams had been asked to be alert for the next few days.

In addition to the immediate relief operation, the Government was proceeding with certain long-term measures to prevent flooding of the low-lying areas. Already 50 per cent of the bottlenecks with respect to flow of storm water had been cleared in the city.

Compensation

Announcing a compensation of Rs. 50,000 to the families of the deceased, Dr. Subramanya told a press conference. “We have reports that there will be heavy rains in the next two days and we are prepared to tackle any emergencies.”

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