Lagatar24 Desk
Bengaluru: Heavy rains early Monday morning have wreaked havoc in Bengaluru, causing severe waterlogging and disrupting traffic across the city, especially in the northern and eastern regions.
Residents and office-goers took to social media to share their experiences, highlighting the extensive delays caused by the downpour. Videos circulated online showed school buses trapped in the gridlocked streets, adding to the chaos.
According to a traffic police advisory, key roads including Outer Ring Road between Nagawara Junction and Hebbal, parts of Hosur and Bannerghatta Road, and Veerasandra on Electronics City Road experienced significant waterlogging. Panathur Main Road was notably affected, with cars navigating through the floodwaters. Low-lying areas faced considerable water ingress, impacting residential properties.
The BJP has criticized the Congress-led Karnataka government over the waterlogging issues, with BJP leader PC Mohan posting a video on X, remarking, “Congress promised to make Bengaluru like London, but we almost ended up with Venice instead.”
Bengaluru South MP Tejaswi Surya also voiced concerns on X, stating, “The water logging & flooding in Bengaluru, after a few hours of rain in the early morning, once again exposes the absence of municipal leadership in the city.” He further criticized the use of temporary fixes for the city’s traffic and infrastructure problems, suggesting a need for a more structured approach to urban planning.
In response to the crisis, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar visited affected areas and addressed the situation. He acknowledged the water issues and emphasized the need for improving groundwater levels. “If water has entered apartments and houses, let’s rectify it. We want the groundwater levels to increase,” he said.
Shivakumar also noted that while surrounding regions like Ramanagara, Channapatna, and Kolar have received insufficient rainfall, areas such as Malnad and the coastal regions have seen adequate precipitation, filling dams but not sufficiently replenishing groundwater levels in Bengaluru.
