The effects of Cyclone Nilam, which hit the Tamil Nadu coast on Wednesday, threw life out of gear in most parts of Karnataka, including Bangalore. Some 37.2 mm of rain lashed the city all day, causing a host of problems for citizens. The usual horrendous traffic jams were compounded by long hours with no power supply.
Commute within the city turned stressful with bumper-to-bumper traffic on most thoroughfares right from the morning. It got steadily worse by evening when the rains intensified.
The mood of those who finally managed to reach home only grew darker thanks to power outages, with more than 70 per cent of the city experiencing frequent power outages.
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Traffic in several parts of Bangalore, especially in the central business district, was severely affected., particularly Richmond Road, Nrupatunga Road, Kempe Gowda Road, M.G. Road, Koramangala Ring Road, Lal Bagh Road, Malleswaram, Yeshwantpur, Airport Road and K.R. Puram. Traffic jams were reported on almost all roads during the peak hours.
A harried commuter said it took her 15 minutes to crawl from the golf course to Cauvery Theatre at 10 p.m. The road was waterlogged in many places too, she said, adding that the police were clearly overwhelmed by the scale of the jam.
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Stuck past midnight
Another driver reported being stuck at the Old Madras Road-Indiranagar 100 Ft. Road junction way past midnight with vehicles coming every which way.
Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) M.A. Saleem told The Hindu the personnel who had completed the first shift were summoned back to duty. The city’s innumerable pot-holes, filled with rainwater, contributed to the mayhem.
With the rains predicted for another three days, the traffic police can take some comfort that Thursday is a government holiday on account of Karnataka Rajyotsava.
Tree falls
The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) control rooms received a few calls about tree falls. Gusty winds and continuous rain uprooted trees in Indiranagar, Hennur Main Road, Basaveshwaranagar, Hanumanthnagar, Peenya, Frazer Town, Infantry Road and Koramangala. A car was damaged when a tree fell on it at Pulikeshinagar.
D.J. Halli councillor Sampath Raj claimed around 40 houses in Roshan Nagar were inundated. “This is mainly because of the incomplete drain work. Though the tender has been awarded, the officials have failed to execute the work. I have been running from pillar to post trying to get the work started.”
No power supply
Several areas, including Kaggadasapura, Vidyaranyapura, HAL Main Road, Suddaguntepalya, Malleswaram, Jayanagar, Banashankari and parts of Electronics City reported power supply disruption. Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) control rooms were flooded with no less than 1,400 complaints, more than thrice the daily average. Officials attributed it this both tree fall and problems caused in the insulators on electricity poles due to rain.
Garbage disposal
BBMP officials said the rain is likely to affect garbage clearance. Around 1,000 tonnes of it is still dumped on the city’s streets. H.C. Ananthswamy, Chief Engineer (Solid Waste Management) expected problems on that front. “It has rained all day. There also may be some problems in transporting garbage to the landfills,” he said.
Met Department officials said Bangalore will wake up to another rainy day on Thursday with gusty winds and plummeting mercury.