Waterlogged roads stall Bengaluru traffic; Home Minister says 'authorities on job'
Bengaluru(PTI): Once again, social media is flooded with videos of waterlogged roads from various parts of Bengaluru, highlighting how the city collapses when there is rain.
This pre-monsoon season, according to hobby weather watchers of the city, Bengaluru has been witnessing cloud bursts of 15 to 20 cm for the last couple of days.
According to Home Minister G Parameshwara, for the last three days, Bengaluru has witnessed heavy rains.
"During pre-monsoon, we usually see flooding and inundation. BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike ) has been on the job of clearing waterlogging and uprooted trees and branches from roads. Authorities are on the job," said the Home Minister.
Most hobby weather watchers have advocated for work from home, as Bengaluru roads make commuting almost impossible as well as dangerous, especially with the flooding of underpasses at several places.
A picture captured by Bengaluru Corporate Club's official 'X' handle shows a chock-a-block Silk Board -- one of the infamous bottlenecks that slow down traffic in the city -- at 7.20 am, the supposedly non-peak hour, on Monday.
PTI Videos reported from the ground that the traffic jam at Silk Board stretched for nearly 10 km.
Meanwhile, the yellow alert issued on May 18 to some regions in Karnataka, including Bengaluru, remains valid for Monday and Tuesday as well, said India Meteorological Department's Bengaluru centre Director N Puviarasu.
Speaking to PTI, he said the department is studying the current pattern of the air circulation and will later issue a weather update.
"As per the current pattern of the cyclonic circulation, Karnataka, especially the coastal parts will get heavy rainfall. Bengaluru is also expected to receive heavy rainfall for the next two days," said Puviarasu.
On Sunday, Bengaluru was battered by intense rains that led to severe waterlogging in several low-lying areas.
Yellow alert could possibly result in temporary disruption of electricity in some areas, minor traffic snarls and possible uprooting of weak trees and branches, warned IMD.
On Sunday, IMD had issued a yellow alert for heavy rainfall across 23 districts in Karnataka, including Bengaluru, till Thursday.
The alert warned of moderate to heavy thundershowers, lightning, and gusty winds reaching speeds of 50 - 60 km/h. Widespread rainfall and thunderstorms are expected throughout the week.
The affected districts include Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural, Kolar, Chikkaballapura, Tumakuru, Mandya, Mysuru, Hassan, Kodagu, Belagavi, Bidar, Raichur, Yadgir, Davanagere, and Chitradurga.
As per the alert issued by IMD on Monday morning, inclement weather is being driven by an upper-air cyclonic circulation over the Southeast Bay of Bengal and parts of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, along with a trough extending from Telangana to North Tamil Nadu, which is pulling in significant moisture and intensifying rainfall across southern India.
Bengaluru city alone received 103 mm of rain in the last 24 hours, according to an IMD bulletin.
One of the worst rain-affected areas in Bengaluru so far was Sai Layout in Horamavu, which falls in the Mahadevapura zone. On Saturday, pre-monsoon rain submerged the layout with 4-5ft of water, leaving streets flooded to knee level.
According to some news reports, the residents have blamed clogged drains and claimed that despite repeated complaints to the authorities, they were not cleaned.
Water entered homes in NC Colony on Tannery Road as well.
Although no injuries have been reported, a tree that was uprooted in the heavy rains in Jayanagar fell on a parked car and a jeep, damaging them. East End Road towards Mount Carmel School Road was also temporarily closed as a tree fell on the stretch.
Waterlogged roads in different parts of the city had made commuting a nightmare for people.
Despite constant traffic alerts by the traffic police about slow-moving traffic in several places, people pushing their stuck cars in knee-deep water could be spotted at places like Panathur S Cross, upper ramp of Domlur flyover and Koramangala, which are prone to waterlogging. Traffic was also slow near Manyata Tech Park.
Several parts of Karnataka have also been receiving good rainfall, especially the Malenadu region and coastal Karnataka.
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
