Heavy rains that have been lashing Bengaluru and overwhelming the storm-water drain (SWD) network over the last few days continue to take a toll on human life. On Sunday, 16-year-old Narasamma who lived with her parents in a makeshift home at C.V. Raman Nagar and eked out a living as a daily wage labourer, was swept away in an SWD during her morning ablutions.
In the neighbouring Ramanagaram district, 38-year-old farmer Nandish A. trying to take a video of the heavy flow of water in a canal was swept away by the strong current when the muddy edge collapsed under his feet.
Search and rescue operations were under way for several hours, but were called off at night.
Since October 13, at least seven persons have lost their lives in rain-related incidents in Bengaluru alone. National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel who had been searching for the bodies of a woman and her daughter who were swept away in an SWD at Laggere on Friday night, recovered the body of the daughter, Pushpa, 22, more than 20 km away at Kumbalgod on Sunday. “More than 80 to 90 men conducted the search at Sumanahalli, Kumbalgod, Byramanagala, and near Kengeri, as water flows from Laggere to these regions,” said District Fire Officer Nagaraj.
The search for Pushpa’s mother, Lingamma, 57, was called off on Sunday, according to Pradeep K.K., coordinator for the Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who was in Mysuru, said raja kaluves in Bengaluru were unable to bear the load of the heavy rains, the kind of which he had never witnessed before. “During the last 60 days, it has rained on 46 days. And it was not ordinary rain ... The drains and storm-water drains in Bengaluru do not have the capacity to withstand so much of rain,” he said. Districts around Bengaluru are also reeling under the heavy rainfall. In Kolar, two persons were killed in rain-related incidents on Saturday night.
