A man speaks on his mobile phone as he wades through a water-logged road in a residential area following torrential rains in Bengaluru, India, September 7, 2022. REUTERS/Samuel RajkumarBangalore, Karnataka Weather Highlights: The Meteorological Centre in Bengaluru Wednesday predicted more rains and thunderstorms in the city. Belagavi, Bagalkote, Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural, Chickbalapura and Kolar districts are likely to be affected by the showers, said the forecast.
Meanwhile, waterlogging continues. Over the last two days, residents of some of Bengaluru’s most high-end residential properties and well-known tech parks on Yemalur-Bellandur Road, behind the Old Bengaluru Airport and bordering two lakes that are an integral part of the city’s drainage system, have been among the hardest hit. Reason: overflow of Bellandur and Yemlur lakes. The city’s civic body Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has a 24×7 helpline (2266 0000) and WhatsApp helpline (94806 85700), along with zonal helpline numbers. The toll-free number 1533 is also reportedly acting as the rain helpline.
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said the state government has prepared a memorandum on rain damage estimate meticulously and transparently and the Government of India must be recommended to release a fair compensation to Karnataka as per the central guidelines.
In other news, Karnataka Minister Umesh Katti died due to cardiac arrest at a private hospital in Bengaluru on Tuesday night, official sources said. The minister for food, civil supplies and consumer affairs and forest was 61-years-old. He is survived by his wife, son and daughter.
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Thunderstorm accompanied by lightning with light to moderate spells of rain likely to affect the following districts in the next 3 hours:
Bidar
Kalburgi
Vijaypura
Raichur
Yadgir
Chamarajanagara
Chitradurga
Davanagere
Mysore
While flood waters receded in some parts of Bengaluru on Wednesday, the worst is not over for IT capital yet, with the weather bureau predicting heavy rainfall over south interior Karnataka, including the city, for the next two days.
Heavy to very heavy rainfall is predicted over a few places in coastal and south interior Karnataka on September 8-9 and interior Karnataka on September 9-10, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
"A cyclonic circulation lies over interior Karnataka and neighbourhood. A trough runs from cyclonic circulation over east-central and adjoining southeast Bay of Bengal to north Kerala across Rayalaseema and south interior Karnataka," it said.
While experts have attributed the flooding in IT capital to encroachments on the stormwater drain and water bodies which impede the flow of rainwater, excess rain has also played its part. (PTI)
Bengaluru received 131.6mm rain overnight on September 5, just short of breaching the recent single-day rainfall record of 132.3mm, noted on September 26, 2014. The highest rainfall in Bengaluru in the last 30 years was recorded on October 1, 1997, when the city received 180mm rainfall, a source in the weather department said.
On September 1 this year, the city received 2.9mm rain. It further received 11.9mm and 41mm rainfall on September 2 and September 4, respectively. There was no rainfall on September 3. (Read More)
Among the many striking images to have come out of Bengaluru over the last few days was of Vinod Kaushik, founder-CEO of a construction start-up, getting on to a open truck with his family and pet dogs as they were evacuated from their home in DivyaSree 77 East, an upscale locality in Mahadevapura, in the eastern part of the rain-lashed and waterlogged city. (Read More)
Although floodwaters receded here in some areas, the images of people rushing out of submerged localities in tractors is set to linger on in people's memory for long and the only silver lining now is the respite from torrential rains.
While elected representatives of the ruling BJP faced tough questions over tackling the deluge, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday said he would bat for special grants from Centre to handle the situation arising out of the damage caused by the downpour to civic infrastructure. Parts of Bengaluru that were battered by torrential rains for the last couple of days appeared to be slowly returning to normalcy with floodwaters receding in some areas. According to official sources, waterlogging has been cleared in most roads, while work is on for draining water in other affected areas. Traffic is almost returning to near-usual levels and complete normalcy is hoped soon.
For people, whose routine life was thrown out of gear due to the showers, the respite is that the rains have stopped. However, many residents could not forget the travails they endured, like those who live in 'Epsilon', a posh gated community in North Bengaluru. Almost all in Epsilon were top business executives and in this neighbourhood, high-end cars were submerged, household belongings were washed away and they used tractors and boats to reach places of safety. (PTI)
A three-day state mourning following the demise of Forest and Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Umesh Katti, will be observed in Karnataka state.
Disclosing this to reporters on Wednesday, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said there will be no official functions on three days but other works related to the management of floods and other emergency works will go on.
The CM said "Janotsava" which was re-scheduled to be held in Doddaballapur on September 8 stands postponed and now it will be held in the same venue on September 11.
Parts of Bengaluru that were battered by torrential rains for the last couple of days appeared to be slowly returning to normalcy with floodwaters by and large receding in some areas.
According to official sources, most parts of the waterlogged roads have been cleared, while work is on for removing water in some of the worst hit areas that were inundated, amid some respite from rains. Traffic is almost returning to near-usual levels, and things may get back to normal very soon, they hoped. Bengaluru traffic police have issued an advisory regarding waterlogging near 'Eco Space' on the Outer Ring Road among other areas.
Also, the city's Cauvery water supply is said to have resumed to a large extent, after the supply was hit in some areas because of flooding at a pumping station in T K Halli, officials said. (PTI)
“She was the pillar of our family. It will be very hard to accept that we have lost her”, said Somashekar, father of 23-year-old Akhila, who was electrocuted while navigating a flooded road in Bengaluru.
Tragedy struck around 9.30pm on Monday, when the B Com graduate who worked at a dance school was returning home. Her scooter broke down and she lost balance and fell into the water on the road between Varthur Kodi and Kundalahalli. She was electrocuted as she held on to a hoarding installed on the divider. (Read More)
Generally cloudy sky and few spells of light to moderate rain/thundershowers are very likely in Bengaluru and neighbouring areas in the next 24 hours according to the Meteorological Centre in Bengaluru.
Heavy to very heavy rainfall likely to occur at one or two places over Coastal Karnataka on 7th, 8th , 9th and over North Interior Karnataka on 9th, 10th and over South Interior Karnataka on 7th, 8th 9th September 2022.
Karnataka BJP's 'Janotsava' rally to mark the completion of the party being in power for three years and the Basavaraj Bommai-led government's one year in office, in Doddaballapura scheduled for Thursday, has been postponed to September 11 following the death of senior leader and Minister Umesh Katti.
This is the third such postponement of the event, which was to be attended by BJP national president J P Nadda.
"Due to the untimely demise of Minister Umesh Katti, the Janotsava that was scheduled to be held on September 8 at Doddaballapura has been postponed to September 11," BJP's Karnataka unit vice-president Nirmal Kumar Surana said.
The rally was originally planned on July 28 (the date marking Bommai's one year in office) at Doddaballapura, but the Chief Minister was forced to cancel it following outrage over BJP Yuva Morcha member Praveen Nettar's murder in Dakshina Kannada district on July 26. (PTI)
Some of the top business executives residing in 'Epsilon', a gated community in North Bengaluru, had never dreamt that they would get a "feel of Venice" in their locality.
Several tycoons got stranded in their own homes due to flooding triggered by two-days of heavy rains, which also threw life out of gear in several parts of the city, particularly information technology corridor and arterial roads.
Home to billionaires, the starting price of a villa in Epsilon is at least Rs 10 crore. However, the eye catching locality near Nagawara itself turned into an extension of the Nagawara lake during the deluge.
High end cars were submerged, household belongings washed away, and the dwellers of this posh locality near Manyata Techpark rode on tractors and boats with families to their safety. (PTI)
A local court in Karnataka's Chitradurga has adjourned the bail hearing of Sri Jagadguru Murugharajendra Mutt pontiff, Shivamurthy Sharanaru to Thursday.
Shivamurthy is presently in judicial custody till September 14. The Mysuru police lodged a complaint against Shivamurthy Muruga Sharanaru on August 26 under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act, 2012, and Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) pertaining to rape. This came after the girls told members of the state Child Welfare Committee they were sexually assaulted between January 1, 2019, and June 6, 2022. The case was later transferred to Chitradurga district police. The police had arrested Shivamurthy on September 1.
E-commerce companies, especially their delivery boys, had a harrowing time to supply products to the customers when certain parts of Bengaluru was under deluge due to two days of heavy rains in parts of the city.
The inundated areas such as parts of Sarjapura, Bellandur, Varthur, Whitefield and Outer Ring Road had become inaccessible due to water-logging. In view of the flood situation, these e-commerce companies had suspended their services for some time.
An executive of a leading e-commerce company told PTI they had to suspend services in certain places as it was not possible for anyone to reach there. “We are waiting for some time to see things settle. Things seem to be improving now in some places,” the executive said.
Meanwhile, an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement, “Safety of our associates is our top most priority. We are evaluating the situation, and ensuring that our associates do not venture in areas with excessive water logging.”(PTI)
Bengaluru South Lok Sabha member Tejasvi Surya was trolled and criticised by a section of social media users accusing him of relishing dosa and promoting an eatery in his constituency, when many parts of the city have been reeling under torrential rains and floods.
In a 40-second video that has gone viral, the National President of BJP Yuva Morcha can be seen eating 'Butter Masala Dosa' and 'Uppittu' (Upma) at an eatery in Padmanabhanagar and praising its quality and taste. He also recommended it to people asking them to come and taste the food there.
There is no mention as to when the video was shot. However, Congress' national social media co-coordinator Lavanya Ballal said the video is said to be dated September 5, when most parts of the city were flooded.
"Video dated 5th September. @Tejasvi_Surya was enjoying a good breakfast while Bangalore was drowning. Has he visited even a single flood affected region?" Ballal tweeted.
"Has anyone heard from @Tejasvi_Surya and his colleagues? Is he in Bangalore?" she said in another tweet.
Several Twitter users including actress and former Congress MP Ramya have shared Surya's video online. (PTI)
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said the state government has prepared a memorandum on rain damage estimate meticulously and transparently and the Government of India must be recommended to release a fair compensation to Karnataka as per the central guidelines.
He held a meeting with the central team led by Ashish Kumar, Joint Secretary, Union Home Ministry which arrived here on Wednesday to study the flood situation in Karnataka, and also the extensive damage caused due to floods in July, August and the current month. The team members were given details of the damages caused due to floods in July & August months, and relief measures taken up by the state government.
Bommai informed the team that this time, a large number of fishing boats, shops and other business establishments had been damaged. In Ramanagar, silk reeling unit and twisting units too have suffered damage. This kind of damage has happened for the first time. It has impacted lives of many people. The team must try to extend the maximum help on the humanitarian ground.
The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday directed the city civic body Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to immediately set up cells to address the grievances of citizens affected by the heavy rains and flood situation in several areas here. The direction mandates setting up of a cell in each ward of Bengaluru.
Each cell will have an engineer who will attend to the grievance of the public. "The ward engineer in each ward shall be notified to deal with the grievance of residents," the court said.
The court also directed the BBMP to notify the establishment of a team of engineers for each ward who would hear the grievances of the residents and manage the "systematic water flow".
It also directed the civic agency to expedite such a proposal and obtain the state government's approval at the earliest. (PTI)
A special court in Bengaluru last Saturday granted default bail to former Bengaluru (Urban) deputy commissioner (DC) J Manjunath in a bribery case after the police failed to file a charge sheet within 60 days as stipulated.
Special court judge K Lakshminarayan Bhat also ordered that the accused officer is not supposed to leave the state without the permission of the investigating officer. He cannot leave the country without informing the court as well, the judge ordered.
Manjunath, who has been named as the third accused in the bribery case, was in judicial custody since his arrest on July 4. Incidentally, the first accused, PS Mahesh, a deputy tahsildar, was also granted default bail over not filing charge sheet within the prescribed time.
Normal supply of drinking water in Bengaluru, which has been disrupted since Monday due to the inundation of two pumphouses at TK Halli on the Cauvery river following heavy rainfall, will be restored Wednesday, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has announced.
“Two pump houses had stopped functioning at TK Halli on Monday affecting the water supply to Bengaluru. There was a fear that this would affect the water supply to the city in a big way but the issue has been resolved now,” Bommai said late Tuesday night. (Read more)
An inter-ministerial Central team met with Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and his cabinet in Bengaluru on Wednesday, reports All India Radio News.
The Karnataka Police’s criminal investigation department (CID) arrested 11 education officials of the school education and literacy department Tuesday in connection with the alleged irregularities in teacher recruitment process in 2012-13 and 2014-15. The irregularities were part of recruiting grade-2 assistant teachers for government high schools in Karnataka.
The 11 arrested are accused of illegally recruiting two assistant teachers — Shameenaz Banu at a government high school in Chikkanayakanahalli taluk in Tumkur district and Rajeshwari Jagli at a government high school in Kunigal taluk in Tumkur. (Read more)
The HAL Airport Traffic Police Station Wednesday said that waterlogging in Yamluru junction and Spice Garden area have been cleared and commuters are free to use these roads.
However, they said that the water logging near Eco World is yet to be brought under control. Vehicular traffic is slow and commuters are advised to avoid this route, they added.
A special court on Tuesday granted bail to suspended IAS officer J Manjunath who was arrested over bribery charges.
The special court granted bail after the police failed to file the charge sheet within 60 days.
Bengaluru city is likely to see a maximum temperature of 29 degrees Celsius and a minimum temperature of 19 degrees Celsius, according to a 9 am update from the Meteorological Centre in Bengaluru.
The forecast predicts a generally cloudy sky. Few spells of light to moderate rain and thundershowers are expected, with occasional heavy rains.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday paid tributes to Karnataka minister Umesh Katti who died following a cardiac arrest. Katti(61) died in Bengaluru on Tuesday night.
PM Modi tweeted, "Shri Umesh Katti Ji was an experienced leader who made rich contributions to Karnataka's development. Pained by his demise. My thoughts are with his family and supporters in this tragic hour. Om Shanti."
The BJP leader is survived by his wife, son and daughter. (PTI)
“It is my last day at work, I need to return my laptop and office things. Can you take me across?” a young employee at an IT firm in Divyasree Technopolis in Yemalur, off the Old Airport in Bengaluru, told a jeep driver near the flooded Yemalur-Bellandur Road Monday.
The jeep driver agreed to drive his vehicle into the waist-high water that had collected on the road following heavy rain in Bengaluru Sunday, and owing to the overflow of the Bellandur lake into dozens of tech parks and gated communities located on the banks of the Yemalur and Bellandur lakes.
Over the last two days, residents of some of Bengaluru’s most high-end residential properties and well-known tech parks – located on the Yemalur-Bellandur Road – bordering the two lakes that are an integral part of the city’s drainage system – have been the worst hit by the overflow of the Bellandur and Yemalur lakes (in south-east Bengaluru). (Read more)
The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board said Wednesday that all water pumps in the TK Halli unit are operating at full capacity from 6.30 am today. The unit had been inundated with water following heavy rains, disrupting the drinking water supply to several parts of Bengaluru.
The Whitefield traffic police said in an advisory issued Wednesday that the Panathur Underpass is still waterlogged. "Area officer and team are present assisting the traffic. Drive carefully and cautiously," the advisory said.
In 2022, the KEA published an information bulletin inviting applications from students for CET that was held in June-July. The bulletin stated that the academic eligibility for engineering and technology courses will be decided by the usual norm of considering equal weightage from QE score and CET score. The KEA had also directed the students to upload their scores of the qualifying examination while they were applying for the CET examination.
On July 30, KEA announced the CET results. A total of 2,10,829 candidates had appeared for the exam, out of which close to 24,000 candidates of CET 2021 had taken the exam for the second time in 2022. However, the KEA evaluated the CET rankings for the repeaters only based on 100% CET score, while for the freshers, the KEA evaluated the CET rankings based on equal weightage of QE and CET scores. (Read more)
The Karnataka government has declared a day of state mourning on Wednesday following the death of eight-time MLA and senior minister Umesh Katti.
The 61-year-old leader passed away on Tuesday night due to a heart attack. He was the minister for forests, food and civil supplies and consumer affairs. Katti had been suffering from heart ailments for a while.
The state government has announced a funeral with full state honours. No entertainment programs will be held by the state on Wednesday and the national flag will be at half-mast on all government buildings.
The heavy rainfall in Bengaluru over the last few days would bring any city to its knees, including New York, Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar said in a series of tweets, seeking to imply that the Basavaraj Bommai-led BJP government in the state must not be blamed for the flooding that has occurred in parts of Bengaluru over the last few days.
“It is true that Bengaluru has been hit by unprecedented rains. In this time of difficulty, the government and the community must work together. It is not a time to point fingers. The consequence of this kind of rainfall in any city in the world would be the same,” Dr Sudhakar said in his posts.
The minister was addressing criticisms levelled against the government by chairman of Aarin Capital Partners T V Mohandas Pai, a former chief financial officer of the tech firm Infosys Ltd. He added, “Mr Mohandas Pai should say what would have happened if a similar amount of rain was to occur in New York. Please be tolerant and truthful. It is easy to complain but difficult to find solutions.” (Read more)
Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar Wednesday said that CM Basavaraj Bommai should leave power and let Congress form the government to solve the waterlogging problem in Bengaluru.
He was reacting to Bommai's comment on Tuesday, in which he said that the waterlogging happened because of the maladministration of the previous Congress government.
Roads in several parts of Bengaluru, including Koramangala, remained waterlogged for the third day today.
Karnataka Minister Umesh Katti died due to cardiac arrest at a private hospital in Bengaluru on Tuesday night, official sources said.
The minister for food, civil supplies and consumer affairs and forest was 61 years old. He is survived by his wife, son and daughter.
According to sources, Katti collapsed in the bathroom of his Dollar’s Colony residence in Bengaluru and was rushed to the hospital. (Read more)
The meteorological centre in Bengaluru predicted more rains and thunderstorms in the city until at least 10 am Wednesday.
Belagavi, Bagalkote, Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural, Chickbalapura and Kolar are likely to be affected by the showers.
On Monday, Gaurav Munjal, founder and CEO of edtech unicorn Unacademy, tweeted a video showing his family being evacuated from their home in southeast Bengaluru. “Family and my pet Albus have been evacuated on a tractor from our society that is now submerged. Things are bad. Please take care…” he wrote.
The same day, Arjun Mohan, CEO of another edtech firm, UpGrad, posted a video on networking platform LinkedIn. He wrote: “State of Bangalore after yesterday’s rains. Entire area around Bellandur and Outer Ring Road is submerged and apartments are without power or water. I had to walk 7 km, take a tractor to cross waist deep water and hitch rides from passing bikers to reach office. Quite an adventurous day and looks like Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and Karnataka govt has decided to do everything to keep us healthy with all the walking.” (Read more)
The Bengaluru urban commissioner Tuesday announced a holiday on Wednesday for all schools in K R Puram taluk in view of the effects of the heavy rainfall. The taluk includes Mahadevapura, Bellandur, Marathahalli, Yamalur and other areas of the IT corridor which have been battered by the rains for the past few days.
Compensatory classes will be held on the next two Saturdays, the commissioner added. According to the education department, over 500 government and private schools of K R Puram taluk will be shut on Wednesday. The area has reported severe flooding. Read more
According to the weather bulletin released by Bengaluru's Meteorological Centre at 10 pm Tuesday, the following districts across Karnataka are likely to experience thunderstorm with light or moderate rainfall in the next three hours:
Uttara Kannada, Udupi, Dakshina Kannada, Bagalkote, Bidar, Dharwad, Gadag, Haveri, Kalaburgi, Koppal, Raichur, Vijayapura, Yadgiri, Ballari, Bengaluru (Urban) and (Rural), Chamarajanagara, Chickbalapura, Chickmagaluru, Chitradurga, Davanagere, Hassan, Kodagu, Kolar, Mandya, Mysuru, Shivamogga, and Tumkuru.
Bengaluru's upscale Rainbow Drive Layout has been flooded after the IT capital received torrential rainfall in the last few days, forcing some residents to use tractors and rescue boats to travel for work or to reach safety.
Spread over 36 acres, the Rainbow Drive Layout has about 400 plots varying from 1,500 sq feet to 3,000 sq feet in size. As the area turned into an IT hub with Wipro Limited and other IT companies shifting their offices to Sarjapur Main Road, real estate development in the vicinity obstructed the flow of water into the lake near the Rainbow Drive Layout (RDL). Also, the height of the Sarjapur Main Road along the layout increased by at least three feet over the decades, worsening the chances of flooding in the locality.
On August 30, an elderly RDL resident passed away as he could not be taken to the hospital in time owing to flooding in the colony. Flooding has occurred repeatedly in the area in the past decade but it has worsened this year, said the residents. According to local officials, the Halanayakanahalli lake located in the vicinity of the Rainbow Drive Layout has breached for the first time in 30 years, making the situation worse. Read more
Two police constables were washed away after they fell into a gushing stream in Karnataka's Koppal district on Monday night. While the fire department officials were able to recover the dead body of one police constable, search operations are under way for another.
The deceased are Ningappa Halavagali and Mahesh Andappa Vakrad, attached to Mundaragi police station. On Monday, the victims were deployed for duty in Gajendragad where farmers were staging a massive protest rally.
According to the police, it was raining heavily when the duo were heading home after finishing their duty. As they reached near Tondihala-Bandihala Halla, their bike lost balance and they fell into the gushing stream and were washed away.
Over the last two days, residents of some of Bengaluru’s most high-end residential properties and well-known tech parks – located on the Yemalur-Bellandur Road – bordering the two lakes that are an integral part of the city’s drainage system – have been the worst hit by the overflow of the Bellandur and Yemalur lakes (in south-east Bengaluru).
Two of Bengaluru’s most upmarket properties where many of the top management of several IT and start-up firms reside with their families – Epsilon and Divyasree 77 degree East – have been the worst hit by the flooding in south-east Bengaluru, forcing all residents of these gated communities in particular to leave their properties on account of flooding of the ground-level portions of their homes. Read more
The heavy rainfall in Bengaluru over the last few days would bring any city to its knees, including New York, Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar said in a series of tweets, seeking to imply that the Basavaraj Bommai-led BJP government in the state must not be blamed for the flooding that has occurred in parts of Bengaluru over the last few days.
“It is true that Bengaluru has been hit by unprecedented rains. In this time of difficulty, the government and the community must work together. It is not a time to point fingers. The consequence of this kind of rainfall in any city in the world would be the same,” Dr Sudhakar said in his posts. Read more
As part of industry outreach by Indian Army under the 'Make in India' Initiative, a Startup Symposium was organized at Rajendra Singhji Army officers’ Institute, Bengaluru on Monday and Tuesday by 515 Army base Workshop.
The exhibition provided an opportunity to the civil industry to showcase their expertise, emerging technologies and developmental initiatives to support the defence forces. A total of 25 companies/startups with domain specialization in drones, aviation, artificial intelligence, communication, surveillance and manufacturing participated in the symposium.
The exhibition, aimed at boosting self-reliance in the defence sector, was attended by senior officers of all the three defence forces.
According to the India Meteorological Department's (IMD) weather bulletin released at 4 pm Tuesday, the following districts across Karnataka are likely to experience thunderstorm with light or moderate rainfall in the next three hours.
Uttara Kannada, Udupi, Dakshina Kannada, Bagalkote, Belagavi, Bidar, Dharwad, Kalaburgi, Raichur, Vijayapura, Yadgiri, Bengaluru (Urban) and (Rural), Chamarajanagara, Chickbalapura, Chickmagaluru, Chitradurga, Hassan, Kodagu, Kolar, Mandya, Mysuru, Shivamogga, Tumkuru and Ramanagara.
The District Collector of these districts have been directed to stay on alert.
Reacting to reports of flooding in Bengaluru, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai Tuesday said: “... The picture that is being painted is that the entire city is facing a grim situation and it is not true… In Mahadevapura, the situation is grim. The encroachments are rampant and we are clearing them. We have taken it as a challenge and the entire government machinery is in full swing to bring the situation back to normal soon.”
Bommai also accused the erstwhile Congress-led government of maladministration, blaming it for the poor drainage system in the city. “They gave permission for construction on the lakes, storm water drains and their buffer zones,” he said.
Speaking about the resumption of water supply from TK Halli where two pumping stations were flooded, Bommai said: “Yesterday, I visited the pump house in TK Halli in Mandya district which supplies water to Bengaluru. Water from Bhimeshwara river has entered the two pumping stations. The dewatering of the stations is underway. Meanwhile, we will provide water to the affected areas in Bengaluru through tankers and borewells. In another two-three days, the situation will be normalised.” Read more
Fire and rescue teams Tuesday used tractors and rafts to evacuate residents stranded in their flooded homes at Sunny Brooks Villa in Bengaluru's Sarjapur Road, an area that got inundated following heavy monsoon rains on Sunday and Monday.
Amid the ongoing probe into the Police Sub Inspector (PSI) recruitment scam, an audio clip involving an aspirant’s father and a BJP MLA went viral Monday. In the purported clip, the father is heard asking the MLA to return the Rs 15 lakh he had paid to the legislator to get his son recruited as a PSI.
In the clip, Basavaraj Dhadesugur, a BJP MLA from Kanakagiri in Karnataka’s Koppal district, is allegedly heard admitting that he has accepted the money and is further heard promising to return it. The MLA goes on to claim that he has forwarded the amount to the government. Read more
Speaking about the rescue operations in Bengaluru's inundated areas, BBMP chief commissioner Tushar Giri Nath said on Tuesday asked residents not to panic, saying that the BBMP has enough resources and asked people to cooperate.
"The BBMP is using around 20 boats to evacuate people and an equal number of pumps to flush out water from inundated areas," he said.
The floods in Bengaluru are limited to only 5-6 sq km, out of the city's total area of 800 sq km, Nath said, adding that of all the eight zones in the state capital, it is only the Mahadevpura zone that is severely affected.
The civic body's chief commissioner said this is the second wettest rainy season in Bengaluru in the last 50 years. The torrential rains from August 30 to September 4 were five times the normal rainfall, leading to 162 lakes filling up in full capacity. "However, the situation was brought under control quickly and the flooding was localised between the two largest lakes Bellandur and Varthur," Giri added.
The BJP government in Karnataka is considering the construction of sluice gates for all lakes in the city of Bengaluru in order to regulate the overflow of water from the lakes during heavy rains and to prevent flooding in catchments around lakes.
In the wake of the flooding of several parts of south-east Bengaluru – the IT corridor – during rain since August 30 Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai claimed that the state will build sluice gates for lakes to regulate water flow during the rains. (Read more)
Congress leader D K Shivakumar Tuesday said that Bengaluru's flooding problem has made it into a source of memes for social media.
"Bengaluru's serious flooding problem is being reduced to memes on social media should make us hang our heads in shame. Once hailed for infrastructure, Bengaluru has been reduced to a joke. Come2023, I promise to put an end to all this & restore Namma Bengaluru to its former glory," he said, sharing a photograph of a report from US-based Washington Post.
Here's the detailed rainfall forecast for Karnataka for the next 24 hours.
Across the state: Widespread very light to moderate rains with isolated heavy to very heavy rains likely over Karnataka. Thunderstorms with lightning are likely at isolated places over the State.
South Interior Karnataka: Widespread very light to moderate rains with isolated heavy to very heavy rains likely over SIK districts.
North Interior Karnataka: Widespread very light to moderate rains with isolated to scattered heavy to very heavy rains likely over NIK districts.
Malnad: Widespread light to moderate rains with isolated to scattered heavy to very heavy rains are likely to prevail over Kodagu, Hassan, Chikkamagaluru and Shivamogga districts.
Coastal Karnataka: Widespread light to moderate rains with isolated to scattered heavy to very heavy rains likely over Dakshina Kannada, Uttara Kannada and Udupi districts.
Here's the rain forecast for the BBMP area till Wednesday, 8.30 am:
Widespread moderate rains with isolated heavy rains associated with thunderstorms are likely over the BBMP area. Maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to be around 30 and 20 degrees Celsius respectively.
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said several residential localities in Bengaluru had to face flood-like situations due to 'unplanned misrule' of the previous Congress Government.
Talking to reporters at his RT Nagar residence Tuesday, Bommai said the previous government recklessly gave permission to build houses and apartments in tanks, tank bunds and in buffer zones. The CM said the previous Congress government never thought about the management of tanks, but the incumbent government has taken it as a challenge and released Rs. 1,500 crore towards the construction of the much-needed rajakaluve.
"On Monday, encroachments worth Rs .300 crore had been removed. Instructions are given that the construction quality of rajakaluve must be good. A system will be made to ensure that there would be no problems with the free flow of water. At the same time, encroachment will not be allowed," CM Bommai said.
Speaking on the drinking water supply situation in Bengaluru, CM Basavaraj Bommai said that of the two affected pumping stations in Mandya district, water has receded from one and the other one is being cleared such that pumping can resume today afternoon.
In several parts of Bengaluru, fire service personnel and volunteers are pumping out water from inundated areas. Here are a few pictures from the operation in Varthur Kodi.
Fire and rescue services are operating motorised boats to rescue residents from gated communities in the Yemalur-Bellandur region of South East Bengaluru. Overflow of the Bellandur lake has flooded several private properties on the periphery of the lake.
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai Tuesday said that the entire Bengaluru city has not been affected by flooding and that the problems are concentrated in two zones, particularly in the Mahadevapura area.
"Karnataka, especially Bengaluru, has received unprecedented rain. The entire Bengaluru isn't in problem. Two zones, particularly Mahadevapura is in problem," he told news agency ANI. The CM described the problems as three-fold. First, the Mahadevapura area has 69 tanks in a small area and all are overflowing, and second, establishments are in lower level. The third problem is encroachments, said the CM.
"We have taken it as a challenge. Our officers, engineers, workers and SDRF [State Disaster Relief Force] team are working 24/7. We have cleared a lot of encroachments and we are going to continue to clear them. Secondly, we are putting sluice gates to the tanks. So, that we can manage them better," said Bommai.
A 22-year-old woman died in Bengaluru’s Whitefield area Monday after the two-wheeler she was travelling in fell on the waterlogged road, resulting in electrocution.
The woman, identified as Akhila, worked as a receptionist at a private firm in the city.
The incident occurred on Monday night when Akhila was returning home after work on her scooter. Police said that she lost her balance on a rain-inundated road near the Mahira Bakery and fell down. (Read more)