Bengaluru rains wreak havoc: 35-year-old woman dies, hundreds of houses flooded

Heavy rainfall in Bengaluru caused widespread waterlogging, affecting over 100 homes. Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy attributed the flooding to a natural calamity and also pointed to the closure of lakes as a contributing factor.

Bengaluru (May 19): A 35-year-old woman was killed after heavy rains resulted in the collapse of a wall in the Whitefield-Channasandra area. The victim has been identified as Shashikala. While she was on her way to her housekeeping job, a compound wall at her workplace collapsed, resulting in her death. The wall had weakened due to the overnight rain. Shashikala is survived by two young children and her husband, who works as a daily wage laborer. 

The couple, originally from Shahapur in Kalaburagi district, had come to Bengaluru for work. Police visited the site and conducted an investigation. Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Chief Commissioner Maheshwar Rao has announced that a compensation of Rs 5 lakh will be paid to the victim’s family.

Continuous rainfall in Bengaluru over the past few days has led to widespread waterlogging. Speaking at a press conference, Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy said Bengaluru received 132 mm of rainfall yesterday. “Continuous rainfall exceeding 90 mm in a few hours at a single location causes floods. Here, with over 130 mm of rain, more than 100 areas were flooded. This is all due to heavy rainfall. If a man makes a mistake, it can be rectified, but what can be done when a natural calamity strikes?,” he asked.

He also said that governments that came after Siddaramaiah's previous tenure did not look after storm drains, that were cleaned by the Congress government. “The current Congress government is undertaking maintenance work with funds from the World Bank. Those criticizing 'Brand Bengaluru' are calling it 'Quarter Bengaluru'. But we should also see what they did when they were in power. Even when they briefly held power, the problems didn't diminish,” he said.

Ramalinga Reddy also commented that the closure of lakes was one of the reasons for the floods in Bengaluru. “I won't name who closed the lakes. But now, the Bengaluru Development Minister is actively working on this. DK Shivakumar is also from Bengaluru, and he is handling the situation effectively. Officials are working everywhere,” he added. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has come down heavily on the Congress government for the lack of poor planning, which has disrupted life in Bengaluru.

According to the India Meterological Department, heavy rain is expected to continue till May 22. IMD said that this is due to the likelihood of a drop in atmospheric pressure in the Arabian Sea. In addition, there is a possibility of winds blowing at a speed of 40 to 50 kilometers per hour, according to CS Patil, Director of the Indian Meteorological Department. Therefore, yellow and orange alerts have been issued for some districts.

Widespread rain has been observed in north and south interior Karnataka. Kakkeri in Yadgir district recorded 13cm of rain, and Shorapur recorded 10cm, according to the Meteorological Department. Maski in Raichur district recorded 9cm, and Bengaluru recorded 3cm of rain. Rain has also been reported in Dakshina Kannada, Kodagu, and several other districts.