Heavy rain wreaks havoc in Bengaluru; roads flooded and vehicles damaged

Several vehicles were damaged after a retaining wall of Namma Metro, near Mantri Mall at Seshadripuram, collapsed

Downpour on the night of October 19 in the city led to familiar scenes playing out: flooding in several areas and damage to properties, including vehicles. Several vehicles were damaged after a retaining wall of Namma Metro, near Mantri Mall at Seshadripuram, collapsed. Hours later, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) deployed a team to clear the debris.

Kishore Kumar, whose car was near the wall, said that his vehicle was completely damaged. After calling up various authorities for several hours, some officials removed the vehicles stuck under debris. “This shows that the quality of construction of the retaining wall was poor. My car is completely damaged and needs a lot of repair work,” he added.

The rain continued to affect the traffic flow on Bengaluru-Pune highway (NH48) after Hebbakka lake near Tumakuru district overflowed on Thursday. According to Tumakuru police, around 10 km of the stretch was affected starting from Kyathasandra toll.

Flooding was also reported in Bellandur, Madiwala, Hosur Road, Silk Board junction, Bannerghatta Road, Malleswaram, R.T. Nagar, Koramangala, B.T.M. Layout, Shivajinagar, Outer Ring Road, Tumakuru Road, Mysuru Road, and the Central Business District. Commuters were stuck in traffic for more than 30 minutes in Central Business District areas. Outer Ring Road near Bellandur, various main roads in Mahadevapura and Sarjapura also witnessed traffic snarls.

The HAL Airport Traffic Police issued an advisory on the morning of October 20, asking motorists to avoid the road from Sakra Hospital to Bellandur Kodi due to waterlogging.

Many vehicles in Shivajinagar were washed away. Those who had parked vehicles on the road side had to run after the vehicles to save them, and videos of the same went viral on social media.

The infamous Silk board junction was also flooded due to overflowing of Madiwala Lake. The basement of a bank in Silk Board junction was completely flooded, leading to the damage of the bank ATM, where money inside the machine has been lost due to water. An apartment near BTM Layout was also flooded, where more than 10 vehicles have been damaged according to residents.