Bengaluru rains: Several areas, roads inundated; traffic affected
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Bengaluru (PTI): Torrential rains overnight brought the capital city of Bengaluru to its knees on Monday as several areas were inundated, and water-logging on roads including arterial ones hit traffic flow while boats and tractors were pressed into service in certain parts.
With several lakes in the city overflowing and stormwater drains flooded, several low-lying areas bore the brunt, with water entering houses and affecting normal life.
Water-logging in localities like Rainbow Drive layout and Sunny Brooks Layout on Sarjapur Road among others were to such extent that tractors and boats were used to ferry students and office goers in the morning.
There are reports of several areas on Outer Ring Road that houses some of the IT companies being affected by rains and flooding.
"There have been heavy rains in Bengaluru, I have spoken to the Commissioner (BBMP) and other officials. I have asked officials to depute two State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) teams to Mahdevapura and Bommanahalli zones in the city that have been worst affected, with boats and other equipment..also engineers are there," Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, he has instructed officials to see to it that water is drained out from the inundated roads at the earliest.
"There is a plan on how to create a temporary drain and how to go about it (drain out water), it will be operationalised today," he added.
Noting that due to heavy rains on Sunday, Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board's (BWSSB) unit that manages Cauvery water supply to city at T K Halli has been flooded and has caused damage to machinery there, Bommai said, he will be visiting there to inspect the spot.
"Already BWSSB chairman, engineers, Urban Development Secretary and other officials are there, work on draining out water is underway...probably by afternoon or evening things will be under control. All technical and emergency works are underway," he added.
However, BWSSB has warned of water supply disruption in several areas of Bengaluru on Monday and Tuesday.
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Ukrainian president welcomes Russian overtures, but says ceasefire must come before peace talks
Kyiv, May 11 (AP): Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday welcomed Russia's offer for direct peace talks, but insisted there must be a full, temporary ceasefire in place before negotiations can start.
Zelenskyy, writing on X, called Russian President Vladimir Putin's counter-offer to start talks without a ceasefire a “positive sign”, and said “the entire world has been waiting for this for a very long time".
He added, however, that "the very first step in truly ending any war is a ceasefire”.
Meanwhile, Russia resumed mass drone attacks in Ukraine early on Sunday, after its self-declared 3-day pause expired.
Russia launched 108 attack drones and simulator drones from six different directions, Ukraine's Air Force said on Sunday. It said 60 drones were shot down and another 41 simulator drones failed to reach targets due to Ukrainian countermeasures.
The Ukrainian president appeared to insist on his proposal to start a 30-day unconditional ceasefire on Monday. “There is no point in continuing the killing even for a single day. We expect Russia to confirm a ceasefire — full, lasting, and reliable — starting tomorrow, May 12th, and Ukraine is ready to meet,” Zelenskyy said.
Putin in remarks to the media overnight effectively rejected that ceasefire offer and proposed restarting direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on Thursday instead “without preconditions”. He said a ceasefire might be agreed on during the negotiations.
Putin's counteroffer came after leaders from four major European countries threatened to ratchet up pressure on Moscow if it does not accept an unconditional 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine that they offered on Saturday in a strong show of unity with Kyiv.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, in comments aired by Russian state TV on Sunday, called Putin's proposal “very serious” and said it “confirms a real intention for find a peaceful solution”.
“The goals of the talks are clear: to eliminate the root causes of the conflict. And also to ensure the interests of the Russian Federation,” Peskov said.
It is a positive sign that the Russians have finally begun to consider ending the war. The entire world has been waiting for this for a very long time. And the very first step in truly ending any war is a ceasefire.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 11, 2025
There is no point in continuing the killing even for a single…
