In scenes that get repeated every time there is a downpour, heavy rains caused stormwater drains to overflow and flood into several homes on Thursday. Most damages were reported near Kamakya Theatre in South zone and Subramanyapura in Bommanahalli zone.
Apart from grappling with floodwater that overflowed from drains, the residents also had to deal with long hours of power shutdown.
The rains started lashing in the evening and the drains overflowed around 8.30 p.m., flooding nearly 90 homes in Kathriguppe near Kamakya Theatre. Shivu, a resident whose house was flooded, said the water level was almost five feet.
The residents complained about poorly maintained stormwater drains for the flooding. “We have never witnessed such excessive waterlogging so far. It is due to poor drainage system,” said Vishwas, another resident.
Sulochana and her family, who reside on the ground floor, spent a sleepless night after their home was flooded. “Our cots and mattresses were also submerged in the dirty water. We spent the night draining water from our home,” she said.
Civic chief Gaurav Gupta, who inspected the flood affected area on Thursday night and again on Friday, told reporters that the civic officials had been directed to estimate the damages incurred by the residents. The compensation will be decided as per the guidelines of the Disaster Management Act.
B.C. Ramakrishna, Joint Commissioner, Bommanahalli, said that around 200 houses were flooded in the low-lying areas of Subramanyapura after the drain overflowed. Several residents have lost household items and groceries, apart from damages to their two-wheelers and four-wheelers.
Jagadish Naik, Joint Commissioner, Bengaluru South, said that the revenue officials had been directed to estimate the damages incurred by the residents due to the flooding. “In the interim, to provide immediate relief, we have collected the bank details of all residents. On Saturday, ₹10,000 will be transferred to their bank accounts,” he said.
Mr. Gupta said that the area around Vidyapeeta had received maximum rain of around 73 mm. The rains lashed in just around one hour. There was some backflow, which also led to the overflow from the drain to flood into homes in the vicinity. The civic chief said the rajakaluve’s carrying capacity was less and an action plan would be drawn up to increase the same. After discussing with the traffic police, a short-term tender would be floated for the work.
The BBMP had deployed additional pourakarmikas and machinery, such as bulldozers and earthmovers, to clear the debris and help residents with the cleanup.
Other areas that received a lot of rain include Sampangiramanagar (42 mm), V.V. Puram (45mm), Bommanahalli (42 mm), Bellandur (40 mm), Anjanapura (36 mm), Gali Anjaneya Temple (37 mm), Rajarajeshwarinagar (34 mm), Koramangala (34 mm), and BEML Layout (31 mm). According to BBMP control rooms, there were 10 cases of tree uprooting in the city, 10 cases of waterlogging, and three cases of culvert block reported.
With more rains being forecast, the civic chief chaired a virtual meeting with officials from all zones to take stock of the rain preparedness. Apart from the nine permanent control rooms, officials have been directed to establish temporary control rooms in the 27 divisions. Ahead of the monsoon months, control rooms will be established in the 63 sub-divisions as well.
Mr. Gupta also said that currently, there were 21 teams (18 on day duty and three on night duty) to clear the fallen trees and branches. “Since the rains have been lashing in the evening and in the night, the number of teams during night duty will be increased to eight, while the remaining 13 will be on day duty” he said.
