Compound walls of apartments washed away following heavy rain on Borewell road in Whitefield on Wednesday. | Photo Credit: K. Murali Kumar
Although the intensity of rainfall has not been much in the last two days, the aftermath of the two heavy showers on Sunday and Monday continued to trouble the residents of the IT corridor even on Wednesday. Inundated roads and apartment basements, JCBs clearing encroachments and cleaning up lakes, and tractors carrying people were a common sight around the zone. However, the situation was getting slightly better at many gated communities due to the efforts of the fire and emergency personnel.
On Borewell road in Whitefield, around eight apartments were struggling with a plethora of issues. At SS Felecity, residents, including the elderly, used ladders to get down from the balcony of their houses to the main gate, along with their luggage, to temporarily shift to a hotel or relatives’ place. Rafts were being used to navigate through the flooded basement and residents said that the electricity had been out for three days. Similar was the situation at other apartments too.
As the compound wall of one of the apartments had collapsed, the residential building in which Mutthurayappa and his wife Sujatha reside had been flooded and the access to their home almost cut off. “All the IT professionals in apartments have moved to hotels to stay safe, but what should people like us who cannot afford it do? We have called the Bescom and BBMP too many times in the last three days, and yet they have not paid any heed to our problems. We have been here for far too long than apartment residents and yet our problems get neglected,” the couple bemoaned.
The residents of this area alleged that along with the overflow from Nallurahalli lake and Sheelvantharakere lake, the demolition of a stop wall built next to the Rajakaluve, by the civic authorities to clear encroachments, led to the flooding of their apartments. “The apartment has been here for nearly 10 years and it has been flooded like this only after that wall was taken down. This has been the situation for over three days now. We are paying from our pockets for pumping machines. We have barely received any help from BBMP,” said Chandra Kumar, resident of SS Felecity.
The situation was not better in other surrounding areas either. The inundation levels were still grim near Ecospace and other tech parks in Bellandur. Motorists were struggling to reach their destinations and there were minor traffic snarls at all important junctions. “We should continuously have a foot on the accelerator in this flooded stretch. If we take it off, then water enters the silencer and the vehicle will stop,” explained Mallikarjun, a cab driver.
Tractors, boats, and rafts were still being used in many residential complexes on Sarjapur Road. However, the Fire Department staff were draining water out continuously. The situation at Rainbow Drive Colony appeared the same as compared to the previous days as water levels had not receded much.
Rainbow Drive layout on Sarjapur Road still under water three days after it was flooded following torrential rains in Bengaluru. | Photo Credit: K. Murali Kumar
Mechanics overwhelmed
Raghu, a mechanic in Whitefield, had not opened his shop in two days as it was flooded. On Wednesday, as soon as he opened his doors, six people dropped off their two-wheelers for service, while he received calls from more people who wanted their vehicles repaired. While some people requested the neighbourhood garage owners to tow and service their cars, many others in the Mahadevapura zone called up online service centres.
