Heavy rains lashed the city for the second consecutive day on Tuesday laying bare the poor condition of roads that had been dug up but not restored.
Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Commissioner B.H. Anil Kumar tweeted the phone numbers of the eight control rooms that citizens could contact for any assistance. In response, several citizens tweeted photos of poor road stretches and flooded underpasses.
Badly affected areas included Thanisandra, Horamavu, T.C. Palya Main Road, Somasundarapalya near H.S.R. Layout, Hennur Main Road, Hosur Road, Hosa Road, Croma Road in Panathur, Gear School Road near Carmelaram, and Williams Town in Byadarahalli.
When asked about poor condition of roads in many parts of the city, Mr. Anil Kumar said that the issue has been discussed several times at coordination committee meetings chaired by Chief Secretary T.M. Vijay Bhaskar. Funds have been deposited by the various civic agencies for road restoration. “We are now planning to ring fence the funds by opening an escrow account. The funds deposited by other agencies will then be utilised only for road restoration and nothing else,” said Mr. Kumar.
Bhuvaneshwarinagar in Byatarayanapura.
To tackle the frequent flooding of underpasses, the civic body is planning to dig these underpasses till the permissible limit and make provisions for the percolation of water. This, he maintained, will ensure that rainwater does not stagnate and flood the underpasses.
Rain across Karnataka
Many districts in north Karnataka and some parts of south interior Karnataka received a downpour. Northern districts saw heavy rainfall from Monday night to Tuesday morning affecting normal life.
In Ballari district, a 75-year-old died when a wall of his house collapsed. There were four other cases of house collapse. There were several reports of inundation of low-lying areas. A holiday was declared in a few schools.
Heavy downpour and overflowing drains brought sewage to the roads in Gadag-Betageri and in some areas of Hubballi city.
In Vijayapura district, the downpour brought smiles on the face of farmers, who were anxiously waiting for a good spell for rabi cultivation.
In the south, Mandya saw heavy rain and inundation in many parts of the district headquarters as well as areas on the outskirts, such as Halahalli and Holalu.
