The Hindu : Front Page : Rain kills nine, triggers a deluge of problems in Bangalore roads

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Wednesday, Oct 26, 2005


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Front Page

Rain kills nine, triggers a deluge of problems in Bangalore roads

Bangalore Bureau

Army help sought to rescue people in flood-hit areas; situation grim in Mysore

FURY OF FLOODS: Motorists had to drive through knee-deep water on the 80 Feet Road in Koramangala on Tuesday. — Photo: K. Murali Kumar

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BANGALORE: The fragile infrastructure of Bangalore was exposed yet again on Tuesday under the fury of torrential rains that left nine people dead, several injured, vast expanses of low-lying residential areas and arterial roads marooned and many houses collapsed. The city police had to seek the Army's help for rescue operations.

An all-time monthly high of 524 mm rainfall brought traffic to a halt on several roads. Thousands of office-goers, schoolchildren, autorickshaw and taxi drivers were stranded on waterlogged roads for hours.

A motorcycle rider was washed away in the overflowing drains on Hosur Road in Madivala police station limits in the early hours of Tuesday. The police gave the name of the victim as Manivannan (28), an executive with TTK Ltd. According to police, the victim was searching for his footwear lost on the way when he fell into the drain.

Chetan (16) was killed and his mother injured when their house collapsed in Rajagopalanagar on Tuesday. Mary Jayarani (13) died after her house in Banaswadi collapsed. Beeraiah (55) was killed when a high-rise compound wall fell on him in Channapatna.

Meenakshi (30) was killed when a lorry rammed the two-wheeler on which she was riding pillion with her husband in K.R. Puram. The police said poor visibility because of heavy rains caused the accident.

Sreenivasulu (28), an office boy, was electrocuted in Jeevanbimanagar when he accidentally touched an electric junction box into which rainwater had seeped, the police said. Two women, said to be labourers, were washed away in Herohalli in Bangalore North taluk and a man was washed away in a drain in HAL II Stage.

Police Commissioner Ajay Kumar Singh said Army (MEG) help has been sought for rescue operations in Madiwala, Puttenahalli in J.P. Nagar, and Hebbal. Nearly 1,000 people were rescued from these areas.

Temporary shelters have been provided to families affected by rain in Bhadrappa Layout, Balaji Nagar, Tatanagar and Marutinagar, all situated near Hebbal.

Several trains bound for Chennai were cancelled while some were diverted via Salem. An Air Deccan flight to Chennai was delayed by over four hours at the city airport. Most water bodies in the city, including the Madiwala Lake, Ulsoor lake, Lalbagh Tank, Hebbal lake, Doddanakkundi Lake and Sankey Tank were filled to the brim. Areas around Ulsoor Lake were inundated with up to three feet of water overflowing from the Ulsoor Nala. Businessmen on Commercial Street struggled to flush out rainwater which flooded most basement shops.

Several schools in the city decided early on Tuesday to declare a holiday to help children return home early.

Trees came crashing down on 10th Cross, J.P. Nagar 6th phase; 14th cross, J.P. Nagar 1st phase and Jayanagar 9th block. Many drivers abandoned their cars on the New BEL Road as water started entering their vehicles.

On the banks of the Puttenahalli Lake in J.P. Nagar 6th phase, water from a broken underground pipe gushed into houses in the Ashtalakshmi Layout and Abbaya Reddy Layout.

500 houses collapse

Mysore Staff Correspondent reports:

Torrential rains worsened the woes of a large number of residents in Mysore, especially in Narasimharaja where over 500 houses are reported to have collapsed. After a brief respite on Sunday, rains continued in city on Monday night and Tuesday afternoon.

At Devaraja Market, the roof of a shop caved in on Tuesday. According to the Deputy Commissioner, S. Selvakumar, 15 tanks breached in Hunsur, Periyapatna, K.R. Nagar and H.D. Kote taluks.

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