Bengaluru Crippled By Heavy Rain; IT Hub Hit Hard As 7 Karnataka Districts On Red Alert, 5 Dead —Updates
Bengaluru faces continued heavy rain, with the IMD forecasting more until Saturday. Seven Karnataka districts are under a red alert for extreme rainfall and flash floods. Bengaluru remains under an orange alert.
As heavy and incessant rain continues to batter Bengaluru for the past two days, the weather department has forecast rain in the IT city till Saturday. Earlier, the weather body had alerted downpour on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday evening upgraded the earlier warning to a red alert in seven coastal and south interior districts of Karnataka. Bengaluru, despite consistent rainfall, is still under the orange alert category.
The state capital registered 0.4 mm rainfall between 8.30 am and 2.30 pm on Tuesday, reports news agency PTI. According to the latest bulletin, the seven districts, which include Uttara Kannada, Udupi, Dakshina Kannada, Kodagu, Shivamogga, Chikkamagaluru and Hassan, will have extremely heavy to heavy rainfall, hailstorms and strong surface winds in the night. IMD has also issued flash flood warnings in all seven districts.
“Surface runoff/inundation may occur at some fully saturated soils and low lying areas due to expected rainfall occurrence in the next 24 hours,” read the warning. In Bengaluru, weather experts said the situation is stabilizing with thunderstorms moving towards Northwest Bengaluru rapidly.
According to IMD, “The conditions are likely to become favourable for Monsoon onset over Kerala during next four to five days.”
A total of five have been reportedly killed in the rain-related incidents in Karnataka. As the rain continued for the past 36 hours, three lives were lost in the city.
Union Minister Attacks Congress-Led Karnataka Govt
The Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy attacked the Karnataka government and accused it of gross negligence as Bengaluru reels under incessant rains. He stated that Bengaluru’s citizens are living in what he called a “branded hell,” adding that the city is suffering while its leaders are obsessed with publicity campaigns. He also alleged that for Shivakumar, the Bengaluru Urban Development Department has effectively become the Bengaluru Cash Development Department.
Rain continues to pour in Bengaluru
The continuous rain in the IT hub threw traffic out of gear, submerging several areas and causing immense problems for the people. According to news agency IANS, the downpour inundated arterial and ring roads, resulting in the slow movement of vehicles across the city. The Majestic, K.R. Market, Jayanagar, Chamarajpet, Banashankari, Shantinagar, Vijayanagar, Chandra Layout, Rajajinagar, R.T. Nagar, Hebbal, Malleshwaram, Koramangala, Kamakshipalya, Nagarbhavi, Peenya, and BTM Layout localities witnessed heavy rain in the night, which continued in most of the areas on Tuesday morning as well. Many localities have witnessed waterlogging, and in some places, uprooted trees have affected the traffic. Due to waterlogging at the Electronics City flyover, the road towards Silk Board is experiencing slow-moving traffic.
The traffic department has said that the blockage is being cleared, and motorists were requested to cooperate. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar, along with Bengaluru MLAs, will be visiting rain-affected areas of Bengaluru on Wednesday.
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