Mr Bommai said that an image is being created as if the entire city is facing difficulties.
Bangalore:
Rain-hit Bengaluru schools have declared holidays and companies have asked their employees to work from home as life came to a standstill on Monday after torrential rains lashed the city as a new torrent of rain The round was only added. To the problems of the people in the IT capital of the country.
Bike riders pushing their two-wheelers stranded on flooded roads and pedestrians struggling to get into knee-deep water were a common sight at some places on Tuesday.
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai cited “unprecedented rainfall and overflow” water bodies for the deluge, but assured his government’s commitment to restore normalcy.
He also blamed the ‘misrule’ of the previous Congress governments for the current situation in the city and insisted that only two areas had to bear the brunt of the rains, though a picture was being painted as if the whole of Bengaluru was struggling. The opposition party countered the Chief Minister’s allegation.
A woman related to rain from Siddapura died due to electrocution. “Karnataka, especially Bengaluru has received unprecedented heavy rains… For the last 90 years, no such rain has been recorded. All the tanks are full and overflowing, some of them break, and every day It is raining continuously. It is raining,” he said.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Mr Bommai said that an image was being created as if the entire city was facing difficulties, which was not the case.
“Basically the issue is in two areas, the presence of 69 tanks in that small area especially in Mahadevapura area and almost all of them are either broken or overflowing. Secondly, all the installations are in low-lying areas. , and the third is encroachment,” he listed.
His government has taken it as a “challenge” to restore normalcy and teams of engineers and workers and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) are working round the clock.
Blaming the “misrule and unplanned administration” of previous Congress governments for the present misery, CM Bommai said they had allowed “right-left-centre” construction activities in lake areas, on tank dams and buffer zones.
He said he had never thought of maintaining the lakes, he said and was quick to add that he has now taken up the challenge of setting things right and allocated Rs 1,500 crore for the development of stormwater drains.
Many encroachments are also being removed.
Meanwhile, citizens faced difficulties and roads, roads, posh areas remained submerged in water. Expensive top-end cars and vehicles lying underwater, even in areas with luxury villas, were a common sight.
A girl dressed in school uniform said, “I came by tractor because the roads are submerged in water, our vehicles are also in water… I have my exam from tomorrow, so I have to go to school.”
“The water has not subsided, because it rained once again last night (Monday), in fact, I think it has increased. I have to go to the office, the kids have school, and I used a tractor today somehow Request the government and the authorities to do something and restore normalcy,” said an office-goer.
Many private schools have declared holidays and switched to online learning for a few days, while many firms have suggested that employees work from home.
Most parts of Outer Ring Road, Sarjapur Road, where some IT firms are located, are like lakes, affecting vehicular movement. Tractors were plowing in waterlogged streets and alleys, ferrying people to their destinations.
According to Chief Minister Bommai, some areas of the state capital have received 150 per cent more rainfall than normal between September 1 and September 5. Mahadevapura, Bommanahalli and KR Puram have recorded 307 per cent more rainfall.
“It was the highest rainfall in the last 42 years. All 164 tanks in Bengaluru have been filled,” he said.
Meanwhile, a 23-year-old woman in Siddapura died of electrocution while going on a flooded road, police said. She came in contact with an electric pole.
The incident is being told on Monday night when the victim was returning home from Scooty.
Meanwhile, responding to the floods in the city, Telangana minister KT Rama Rao called for “bold reforms in urban planning and governance”. Our cities are our primary economic engine driving the growth of the states/country and with rapid urbanization and sub-urbanisation, “the infrastructure is bound to collapse as we have not used enough capital to upgrade it ,” he said in a tweet.
“We need bold reforms in urban planning and governance. Get away from the conservative mindset,” he said in another tweet.
It is not difficult to build clean roads, clean water, clean air and a better storm water management system, said Sri Rama Rao, son of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.
Hitting back at CM Bommai for blaming the ‘misrule’ of the previous Congress governments for the city’s rain issues, party state president DK Shivakumar urged the CM and his administration to hold elections or face elections.
He also alleged that the “corrupt” BJP government and its officials are responsible for the current situation in Bengaluru.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)