Bengaluru when it rains and rains: Venice, jet skis, water park, world-class city
Heavy rains in Bengaluru turns life in the city upside down. Photo: PTI
Bengaluru is known for its good weather. There's always a battle between Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi over whose weather is superior. Of course, with Mumbai's flooding problems and Delhi's heat, Bengaluru always managed to emerge as the winner. But the blindfold has fallen.
Bangalore people on social media explaining how the city has the best weather pic.twitter.com/H9rjMwqEnW
— Sagar (@sagarcasm) September 5, 2022
Bengaluru is flooded. Unless you have been living under a rock, you cannot miss the videos of gushing water, roads turning rivers, flooding homes, submerged luxury cars, roaming crocodiles, and surprising travel choices. They are all over social media. And if you are reading this from Bengaluru or another part of Karnataka; well, then you are likely living the nightmare.
Last night, #bengalururains wreaked havoc in the slums near Munekolalu and Bellandur. Over 1,500 families affected by torrential rains, corrupt practices of state authorities. Working class is always the worst affected by both climate change, and poor+haphazard urban planning. pic.twitter.com/h11RfEipX5
— AICCTU Karnataka (@aicctukar) September 5, 2022
The situation is so bad that CEOs of unicorn companies are being evacuated on tractors. Gaurav Munjal, CEO of Unacademy, posted a video of his evacuation on a tractor after the society he was living in got flooded.
Please note, he is the CEO of @unacademy , one of the top unicorn (Valuation more than over 1 Billion dollars). #bengalururains https://t.co/nPo1grMmYE
— Partha Das (@partha2019LS) September 6, 2022
So, what's happening in Bengaluru?
1. First, Bengaluru received 131.6 mm of rainfall on September 5.
2. The rainfall came short of breaking an 8-year record. In September 2014, Bengaluru received 132.3 mm of rainfall.
3. It is being reported as the third heaviest rainfall in September in 75 years.
Thank you @CMofKarnataka @BSBommai you have developed our city to European Standards.
— Kamran (@CitizenKamran) August 29, 2022
Now Indiranagar has started to look like Venice.
Please increase your corruption from 50% to 100% we will then be Venice for 365 days. Now this pleasure is only short lived#bengalururains pic.twitter.com/WXwVq15oBk
4. The other bad case of rains in September was in 1988, when 180 mm of rain fell.
5. The Karnataka government will release Rs 600 crore package to manage floods in the city and other districts.
6. At least 2,000 homes were flooded, 1,500 homes in slums were affected, and 30 large apartment units also suffered. Basements with vehicles in apartments were completely submerged.
Flooding reported to @MTFJalShakthi @ArvindLBJP till now… in East Bengaluru #bengalururains #Bengaluru #EastBengaluru #Mahadevapura pic.twitter.com/43CCRxUsps
— Citizens Movement, East Bengaluru (@east_bengaluru) September 4, 2022
7. 10,000 homes were completely marooned, with at least 4-5 feet-deep swirling waters.
#Bengaluru: Water level is yet to recede in the upscale Divyasree 77 East in Yemalur (#Marathalli).
— Rakesh Prakash (@rakeshprakash1) September 6, 2022
Price of property here is Rs 8 crore upwards!
Residents leaving for safer places 👇#bengalururains @NammaBengaluroo @WFRising @NammaWhitefield @BLRrocKS @TOIBengaluru pic.twitter.com/qv3wMf8JdN
8. 20,000 vehicles were under water.
9. More than 200 distress calls were made till yesterday.
Bengaluru Rains: Apartments near Yemluru flooded. Cars n bikes parked in basement submerged. @XpressBengaluru,@NewIndianXpress,@BoskyKhanna,@Cloudnirad,@AshwiniMS_TNIE,@ArvindLBJP,@RisingVarthur,@robohumanoid,@Namma_ORRCA,@BBMPCOMM,@CMofKarnataka,@INCKarnataka pic.twitter.com/FnatAxluRN
— Mohammed Yacoob (@yacoobExpress) September 5, 2022
10. At least 2 people died - one, a daily wage worker fell into a manhole and died; and two, a woman fell off a two-wheeler due to rain-inundated roads, came in contact with a live electric wire, and died of electrocution.
11. Rescue teams had to be called in to help residents stranded in Koramangala, Indiranagar, Sarjapur, Marathahalli, etc.
12. Basements of several shops were also flooded, resulting in heavy losses for businesses.
Karnataka | Heavy rainfall & waterlogging affect normal life in Bengaluru; visuals from Koramangala where basements of shops/apartments are flooded
— ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2022
A local says, "It happens whenever it rains. It has been raining heavily this yr. Those who have shops in basements are in trouble" pic.twitter.com/O3dEEhQZm9
13. Some techies even took tractors to work, saying that they couldn't afford to take frequent leaves.
Karnataka | Many employees of IT companies use tractors to reach their offices in the Yemalur area of Bengaluru amid waterlogging due to heavy rains
— ANI (@ANI) September 5, 2022
We can't take so many leaves from the office, our work is getting affected. We're awaiting tractors to drop us for Rs 50: Local https://t.co/vU7zRpDXAD pic.twitter.com/ApRI8xa1Qk
14. Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said that his government will be speaking to IT companies regarding the damage that has occurred due to the heavy rains.
15. On the other hand, Telangana IT Minister KT Rama Rao expressed his indignation at the crumbling infrastructure of the cities in India and said, "We need bold reforms in urban planning & governance."
To all those who are mocking the water-logged Bengaluru:
— KTR (@KTRTRS) September 5, 2022
Our cities are our primary economic engines driving the States’/Country’s growth
With rapid urbanisation & sub-urbanisation, infrastructure is bound to crumble as we haven’t infused enough capital into upgrading the same
16. IMD has issued a yellow alert for Bengaluru Rural, Bengaluru Urban, Ballari, Chamarajanagara, Chikkamagaluru, Chitradurga, Hassan, Kodagu, Mysuru, Shivamogga and Tumkur districts in Karnataka for September 6.
Unseasonal and heavy rains have become frequent across the world. Be it flooding in Bengaluru, Pakistan, or Paris, the culprit is the same: climate change.