Washed away in Bengaluru: A bride’s parents, a priest, mother & daughter

Mangalore Today News Network

Bengaluru, Oct 19, 2017 : Amid heavy rain on the evening of October 13, Vasudeva Bhat, 40, a priest at a temple in the Kurubarahalli region of northwestern Bengaluru, went to his home next to the temple to warn his wife not to let their two young children go out since their low-lying locality was bound to witness flooding.

 

On his way back to the temple, Bhat apparently tried to unclog a drain that flowed near the house and the temple. The stone slab he was standing on gave way, sending him tumbling into the drain. His body was found the next day, nearly 1 km from the spot where he had fallen in.

Five people died in the heavy rainfall in northwestern Bengaluru that night, and a sixth person in east Bengaluru on October 14 following heavy rain in that region. All the deaths occurred in lower middle-class localities and next to major stormwater drains that were overflowing from rainfall that lasted three to four hours. The victims in the northwestern part on October 13, in fact, belonged to families who lived a few streets away from one another.

Bhat, priest of the Venkataramana temple for over 10 years, had been provided the house by the temple authorities and lived there with his mother, wife and two children. Neighbours recalled that he would go to the temple everyday at 7:30 am and return in the afternoon, then go again around 5:30 pm and return around 9. The day he was washed away, he had gone at 5:30 pm as usual and come back around 7 to warn his family.

“It seems that when it started raining heavily, a portion of the temple wall collapsed and the priest came home to warn his family about the heavy rain,” said Rupali K, a neighbour. Another neighbour said, “Water from the drain was overflowing onto the streets and the stone slabs over the drain were barely visible. The loose slab gave way when the priest was standing on it.”


A few streets away, located beside a major stormwater drain, is the home of Shivarudrappa, 60, a daily wage earner whose wife and daughter were swept away as they tried to escape the water overflowing from the drain into their house.

The daughter, Pushpa, 22, who worked in a factory was only home that evening because her mother, Ningamma, 45, was unwell, say locals. Shivarudrappa could not prevent them being swept into the main drain because he was occupied trying to get his young grandchildren to safer ground.

“They had barely stepped out when they were washed away. There was nothing we could do,” says Shivarudrappa. He was living in the small house with his wife, three daughters and two grandchildren.

“There was nothing we could do,” echoed Raghunath, a neighbour. “The water was getting too high in our homes and we had no option but to get out. The two women drowned when they tried to leave their home by walking through the flowing water.”

Pushpa’s body was found nearly 10 km away. Disaster relief forces and the fire services are yet to locate the body of her mother.


Bengaluru floods, Bengaluru floods deaths, Bengaluru rainfall,  Flooding in Madivala area.

One lane away, and close to the main stormwater drain, is the home of the couple Venkatappa, 48, and Kamalamma, 45, who were killed when a wall collapsed while the family was evacuating the house. The couple’s daughter Vani Venkatappa, 25, a schoolteacher whose wedding was being planned in November, and their son were home then.

“The water from the drain began entering the house and the family initially thought the situation was not too bad. They later saw the rising water and were in the process of leaving when the wall collapsed, killing both parents,” a neighbour said.

The following day, the rain claimed its sixth victim — Narasamma, 18, who was living in a temporary workers’ colony in the northeastern part of the city. She was reportedly washed away in an open stormwater drain when she had ventured out for her morning ablutions.

Clogged city

The growth of Bengaluru into a concrete metropolis over the last two decades has resulted in the disruption of sewage and drainage systems resulting in extensive flooding during heavy rain in many parts of the city. Rainfall of even 50 mm to 100 mm over a short period of time, if sustained, can result in flooded streets for a few hours or even a day.

Flooding has become frequent in many areas where extensive construction has occurred in the last two decades, be it for apartment blocks, the Metro, flyovers or elevated highways.

Small amounts of rain can inundate lowlying areas because the lake system in Bengaluru, which lay at the core of a drainage system, has been virtually destroyed by encroachment of lakes for real estate over the years. Earlier, lakes in higher areas would spill over into those in the lower regions, resulting in a natural stormwater drainage system. Bengaluru, which had 272 lakes in and around it four decades ago, has only around 70 at present.

Attempts by civic authorities in clearing drains from encroachment, and preparing them for the monsoon, are widely seen as half-hearted. The government itself has reclaimed dozens of lakes to create bus stands, sports stadiums and housing complexes, and for public-sector firms such as ISRO to set up facilities. Real-estate firms have also been allotted land for complexes along lake shores.

In July 2016, civic authorities came up against public anger for failing to prevent encroachment of stormwater drains and lakes. The criticism over a flooding incident on July 28, 2016, jolted civic authorities into action and led to the identification of 1,000 properties that had encroached on stormwater drains, preventing the flow of water from the streets into the lakes.

A five-day demolition drive, however, raised more anger against the civic authorities who themselves had authorised much of the construction on the raja kaluves (stormwater drains) and lake beds.

 

Record rainfall

Though the city of Bengaluru received total rainfall of only 34 mm on the evening of October 13, the western part recorded as much as 90 mm. This October, Bengaluru has had 345 mm of rainfall, which is 243 mm above normal. The rainfall in the city this year was 1,540 mm until the weekend and is projected to surpass the record of 1,606 mm, in 2005.

“This year the rains have been very heavy. The drains are overflowing due to the incessant rainfall. I am pained by the unfortunate deaths due to the rain,” Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said after visiting the homes of victims of deaths due to flooding.

“The city municipal authorities have neglected the city and are functioning as commission agents who are looting the state exchequer in broad daylight,” state BJP president Yeddyurappa said. “This is the result of neglect. They claim to have spent some Rs 4,000 crore on improvement of the city but everything has leaked.”


courtesy:Indain Express