Just two days after Kendriya Vihar apartment complex housing 603 flats was flooded, heavy rains caused overflow from the adjacent Yelahanka lake to gush into the premises once again early Sunday. By morning, the rains had stopped, but there was nearly 5 ft water stagnating within the apartment complex.
Soon after the apartment complex was flooded once again, power supply was cut off to prevent any untoward incidents. As many as 120 rescue personnel from the State and National Disaster Response Force along with BBMP officials and 40 police personnel were roped in to rescue and evacuate residents. Rafts and trackers were roped in during the rescue effort. Hundreds of cars and two-wheelers parked in the basement of the apartment complex have submerged.
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike distributed emergency provisions, such as milk, drinking water, bread and biscuits to marooned families, besides food for the rescue personnel. BBMP’s medical team, with eight doctors, is also stationed at the complex, as is an ambulance with basic life support system.
One of the many residents who was rescued was a senior citizen, who is also a cancer patient. He told reporters that he was due to chemotherapy on Monday and was rescued by the NDRF team.
Student takes raft to sit for her exam
It was a nerve racking experience for class XII student who had to reach her school in Hebbal to sit for an examination. Her mother, Kanchen Joseph, said the reporting time was 1 p.m.
“We had informed the class teacher about the situation. My daughter went to the main gate in the raft and took an autorickshaw to school. She reached in time to change into uniform and appeared for the examination,” she said and added that her husband booked a cab for their daughter from school.
“She again had to come till the gate and reached our block in a tractor. She is just exhausted from the ordeal. She, however, has to prepare for her next examination on Tuesday,” she said.
Promise to tackle encroachments
Earlier in the day, BBMP’s Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta, accompanied by Yelahanka MLA S.R. Vishwanath and senior civic officials visited the apartment complex.
Speaking to reporters, he said the Yelahanka zone had received unprecedented rains in just two – three hours. “A lot of water has flowed into Yelahanka lake, which led to a large volume of water being discharged. This caused water to flood into Kendriya Vihar which is low lying,” he said.
Zonal joint commissioner Poornima, who has been overseeing rescue operations since late Sunday night, said as an immediate measure, the civic body had opened the vents in the complex to ensure water drained out.
Mr. Gupta said that as per the revenue map, the rajakaluve width was eight feet. “However, this is grossly insufficient. As a permanent solution, we need to widen it, for which we may need to acquire lands through TDR, apart from permission from NHAI, as the flyover also comes in between,” he said and added that once widened, there would be unhindered flow of water, which would prevent flooding and inundation in these parts.
