Heavy rains inundate Bengaluru’s Mahadevapura area

After heavy rains on Monday night, fire and rescue personnel had to be deployed to ferry people away from the inundated zones in Bengaluru’s Mahadevapuram area.

Heavy rains in Bengaluru on Monday night, August 29, inundated low-lying parts of the city, leading to storm water drains and lakes swelling up with rainwater. Flooding was also reported across Bengaluru’s Mahadevapura zone.

For the second time in less than four months, fire and emergency personnel were deployed in the city as villas in Rainbow Drive Layout were flooded. Residents had to be ferried to safety on tractors and boats.

The heavy rains also resulted in a traffic gridlock along the Outer Ring Road. “The flooding of Marathahalli Outer Ring Road, near EcoSpace in Bellandur, was a result of encroachment of a major stormwater drain. They have now realised and agreed to release some land and requested the Palike to build a water diversion channel. We will have to put boxes and connect the drains,” said Girinath, the chief of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).

The Bengaluru East tehsildar, after the previous flooding on May 17, issued notices to encroachers and held a hearing recently. Officials were also deployed to ensure that the water was pumped out.

Bengaluru East tehsildar, Ajith Kumar, said that after observing the encroachments at Rainbow Drive, notices were sent to 13 owners whose properties block major areas of the culvert.

According to Shanmugam, the leader of the pourakarmikas, “About 100 sheds were flooded at Doddanekundi area. Last time, the same thing happened and officials had promised proper homes to BBMP pourakarmikas, but there was no progress.”