Abida Begum and her family in D.J. Halli spent a sleepless night worrying about their belongings that were all damaged when rainwater gushed into their tiny home Thursday night. Nearly 40 houses in the low-lying areas of Tipu Mohalla here were inundated.
These houses that abut a storm-water drain invariably gets flooded even with a small spell of rain. Residents there were temporarily housed in the local ward office and Ambedkar Bhavan in the area.
Continuous rainfall
Bangalore has been experiencing the effect of Cyclone Nilam’s landfall on the east coast and the continuous rainfall has dampened routine life in the city.
“Our home was flooded only after the rain intensified on Wednesday evening. Even our groceries have been damaged. It was only on Thursday morning that we were able to return home and bail out the water,” Ms. Begum lamented.
Homes next to the storm-water drain bore the brunt as the retaining wall had collapsed, threatening flimsy dwellings.
Water entered a few homes on Lalbagh Road, near Prerana Motors, and Ex-Servicemen’s Colony in Dinnur, a Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) press release said.
Fallen trees
Gusty wind and rain felled some 86 trees and branches. The BBMP said 67 were cleared and work was on the remove the rest.
Tree fall was reported from Rajajinagar 6th block, New BEL Road, Nandini Layout, Seshadripuram, Nayandahalli, Malleswaram 9th Main, Marappanapalya, DJ Halli, Indiranagar, CMH Road, Sultanpalya 4th Cross, Jeevanbimanagar, Jayanagar 9th and 5th Blocks, HSR Layout and Basavanagudi.
Expect more rain
The weather is likely to remain the same on Friday as well, according to the Meteorological Department. The city received 81.5 mm rainfall in 24 hours (from 8.30 a.m. Wednesday to 8.30 a.m. Thursday). As of 5.30 p.m. Thursday, there was 4.8 mm rainfall. The next reading taken at 11.30 p.m. showed that the city had received 9.9 mm rainfall. The relative humidity was 98 per cent, and minimum temperature 18.6 degrees Celsius.
The department has forecast intermittent rain and thunderstorms in most places over Karnataka.
Health worries
This sudden change in weather is likely to add to Bangaloreans’ health problems. Doctors, who are already seeing an increased number of cases of viral flu and vector-borne diseases such as dengue, said they expected a rise in respiratory and diarrhoeal infections also in the next few days.
“The city’s garbage crisis has resulted in an increase in the rodent population. Following this, there is a possibility of people developing leptospirosis and other related diseases. The rain is now adding to the problem and there are chances of filth seeping into the ground and corroding pipelines. This can result in water-borne diseases,” said S. Rajanna, resident medical officer of the State-run Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital.
With the hospitals already seeing an increased number of dengue cases, he said there was a likelihood of the disease erupting in a more aggressive form after the rain stops.
‘Take precautions’
Shashidhar Buggi, director of the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases, said the cold weather was conducive to thriving of viruses.
It is better for people to take precautions and avoid catching secondary infections, he said.
