Parmesh S Jain
According to Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) officials,Bengaluru witnessed more than 114 mm rainfall in less than 12 hours resulting in overflowing of almost all storm water drains (SWD) in all zones of the city.
While water came up to 4 ft.on Mourya Road,it was almost 3 ft. in Chickpet, Sultanpet and Nagarthpet.Even the Sirsi Circle flyover was waterlogged by 10 p.m.
Waterlogging was reported from Majestic, Corporation, Nagarthpet, Shantinagar, Kodigehalli, Jalahalli, Peenya, Goraguntepalya, Thyagarajnagar, Guttahalli, Richmond Town, Okalipuram, and around the CBD.
As water began entering houses, BBMP control room received complaints from Hosakerehalli, Jayanagara, Shivajinagar, Mahalakshmipuram, Basaweshwarnagar, J.C. Nagar, JJR Nagar, HSR Layout, Koramangala, SVR Layout, Bommanahalli, Hulimavu, BC Palya, Malleshwaram and other lowlying areas.
On Tuesday night, Horamavu registered the highest rainfall of 155 mm,followed by Yelahanka (129 mm) and Vidyapeetha (127 mm).
Rajmahal (122 mm), Nagapura (120 mm), Sampanginagar (119 mm), Dasarahalli (110 mm), Vidyaranyapura (109 mm), Doddanekkundi (108 mm), Banaswadi (106 mm) and Jakkur (102 mm) also registered rainfall above 100 mm.
IMD considers rainfall between 64.5 mm and 115.5 mm as heavy and between 115.6 and 204.4 as very heavy. Many other parts of the city also witnessed rainfall above 50 mm.
As many as six people three in Bengaluru lost their lives in separate incidents across the State during the heavy rains on tuesday that wreaked havoc across many parts of Karnataka.
Two contract labourers died met a watery grave while laying water pipes for a residential layout in Ullal lake in Jnanabharathi.
While another labourer slipped from a 40 -ft high rooftop of an industry in Sompura industrial layout in Dabaspet Badabpet during the heavy rains that lashed Bengaluru on Tuesday.
Two contract labourers died met a watery grave while laying water pipes for a residential layout in Ullal lake in Jananbharathi,while another labourer slipped from a 40 -ft high rooftop of an industry in Sompura industrial layout in Dabaspet Badabpet during the heavy rains that lashed Bengaluru on Tuesday.
The two labourers,identified as Ankit Kumar Sahani,23 from Bihar and Dev Bharath Kushwaha, 37 from UP, were forced to work overtime while it was raining and drowned in the pipe even as their colleague Triloki made futile attempts to pull them out of the narrow pipes around 7.30 pm.
Triloki,the complainant,also alleged that despite informing the project manager,site engineer and the labour contractor,they came to the site the next day to pump out water and pull out the bodies .
Senior officer told reporters,Based on the complaint by Triloki,the police arrested,Shiva Kumar,project manager,Harish Reddy,site engineer,Manoj Yadav,labour contractor,and Narasimharaju, HR Manager of Mega Engineering and Infrastructure Estate (MEIL),charging them under death due to negligence .
Triloki told the police that he,along with eight others,were working to lay pipes near Ullal Lake for the Cauvery fifth stage works by MEIL.
The workers wound up work by 4 pm on Tuesday when it was started raining.
The accused Shivakumar,Harish Reddy and Manoj Yadav arrived at the spot and asked Triloki,Ankit and Dev Bharath to stay back to finish wielding work till 9 pm,and asked the others to go home.
The labourers are from UP and Bihar came to the city in search of work four months ago and joined the company as contract labourers .
Their request to finish the pending work the next day citing bad weather went in vain as the accused insisted that they have to finish the work by 9 pm and report to them,Triloki alleged.
Ankit and Dev Bharath then got into the pipes, while Triloki was asked to help them with the required tools.
There was no ladder to climb down and the opening of the pipe was as narrow as two feet diameter and six feet down below .
While they were wielding the pipes inside,heavy rains resulting in flooding in the pipes.The two workers tried to climb up,but because there was no ladder,they drowned in the water.
Triloki tried to pull them up,but failed.He raised alarm for help,but no one was around.He did not even have a mobile phone to inform the labour contractor and tried to check for the duo.
Around 9 pm,another labourer Pawan came to the site and the duo rushed to inform the accused.
Despite knowing about the incident,the accused did not turn up until 6 am on Wednesday.The accused later got the motor to pump out the water and pull out the bodies before informing the police,Triloki told the police.
The police rushed to the spot and shifted the bodies for post-mortem.The accused not only forced the labourers to continue work in the rain but also did not provide any safety gear hence liable for penal action, Triloki told the police.
In another incident , a 54-year-old labourer was killed after he slipped from the rooftop of a chemical factory while cleaning it to remove stagnant water during heavy rain at Sompura Industrial area in Dabaspet on the outskirts of the city on Tuesday.
The deceased Sakanna,54,a resident of Baragenahalli in Sompura,joined Organic Aromatic Chemicals a few days ago as a labourer.
On Tuesday,he was asked to climb up the rooftop of the factory and clean the sheets to clear water stagnation.
While Sakanna was cleaning,he slipped and crashed on the ground from 40 feet height and, sustaining severe injuries .
He was rushed to near-by hospital where the doctor declared him as brought dead.
The Dabaspete police have registered a case of death due to negligence against the owner of the factory for further investigations .
Investigations revealed that Sakanna was not given any safety gears .
The video of a man wading through chest deep water at the flooded Nayandahalli junction on May 17 night,mockingly thanking Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai for a ‘new swimming pool’ has gone viral.
In the video,he asks Mr.Bommai to join him in swimming at the flooded junction.
This video, perhaps, best captured people’s anger at the Karnataka Government over the rain-induced havoc in Bengaluru on May 17-18.
In the absence of an elected council in the civic body, the State Government, particularly the seven ministers from the city and the Chief Minister who holds charge of the city,drew a lot of flak from the people not only for the way the city was flooded after Tuesday’s rains, but also at what many termed ‘apathy’.
Famous iconic UB City road was sub- merged with water logging.
Kendriya Vihar apartments in Yelahanka again sub merged due to heavy torrential rains due to which many trees were uprooted,around 300 vehicles washed away in rain.
Many underpass were Sub-merged due to heavy water logging in Sultanpet, BVK Iyengar road,Majestic,Okalipuram, Rajajinagar,KR Puram,KP Agrahara,Manjunath Nagar,Ittamaddu,Hosakerahalli, Vijayanagar, Nayandahalli,Mysore Road,BGS Flyover,and across city.
Low lying areas inundated with water sleepless night to citizens of Bengaluru who were busy in removing the water which entered their houses and apartments.
In K P Agrahara limits Residents staged a flash protest against the BBMP and local leaders who failed to visit the spot as water entering low lying areas.
