Waterlogging at Bengaluru metro station inaugurated by PM Modi in March

Inside the brand new Nallurhalli Metro station.

Water on the platform as well near the ticketing counter. @cpronammametro one rain, and water has seeped inside fully. pic.twitter.com/HhJFt8aQkw

— Whitefield Rising (@WFRising) April 4, 2023

A Twitter user, Shanoj Devassy, posted, “This is what one can expect when metro stations are opened in a hurry without properly completing the works…”

While Congress general secretary and Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala in the past had questioned why Prime Minister was inaugurating the incomplete works. Prior to the PM’s visit, Surjewala had asked, “Why is PM Modi inaugurating the Purple Metro Line without the construction of the mandatory metro link between Byappanahalli Metro Station and KR Puram Metro Station? Is it not correct that this missing Metro Link, which crosses over an electrified railway line, will take at least six months more to be completed.”

The new metro line between KR Puram and Whitefield was inaugurated on March 25.

Roads in Varthur Kodi and Kadubeesanahalli also reported waterlogging. Eight flights were diverted due to inclement weather in Bengaluru and the departure of six flights was delayed.

The Meteorological department, in a press release, said that Bengaluru may witness light to moderate rainfall/thundershowers during evening and night time for the next 48 hours. Maximum and Minimum temperatures are very likely to be around 31 and 22 degrees Celsius, respectively.

Heavy downpour in the Whitefield area on Tuesday evening also led to waterlogging at several locations, like Varthur Kodi, ITPL Main Road, Mahadevapura and surrounding areas. According to the weather department, Bengaluru is set to witness light rains or thundershowers in the evening for the next two till April 6. The heavy downpour also threw traffic out of gear on ITPL main road, Varthur Kodi, and other areas.

Manjuu Ranagarajan, a resident of Whitefield said, “Following the heavy downpour, traffic almost came to a standstill. A 15-minute journey between Mahadevapura and Varthur Main Road took me nearly 50 minutes.”

Netizens took to Twitter to slam the civic agencies for the poor road work and drainage system that has once again brought Bengalureans to their knees. Posting pictures of waterlogging and drainage system, Rahul Patel tweeted, “Another heavy rainfall in Thubarahalli extension road, Whitefield, has exposed the woefully inadequate drainage facilities. Streets are flooded and residents are frustrated. Government authorities, please help.”

Aashik, another Twitter user, wrote, “Whitefield metro station of Bangalore which was inaugurated by PM Modi couldn’t even sustain its maiden rain. Leakage resulted in water logging on the platform. Election stunts don’t work all the time. Modi’s Election gimmicks have been exposed again.”