BENGALURU: A relentless downpour of 130mm over just 12 hours from Sunday evening to early Monday brought Bengaluru to a virtual halt, leaving three people dead, flooding over 500 homes, and pushing more than 20 lakes to the brink of overflowing.
The heavy rain, triggered by the convergence of two low-pressure systems and accompanied by intense thunderstorms, battered the southern, northern, and eastern parts of the city. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast more heavy showers over the next five days.
The downpour left vast parts of the city waterlogged. Roads in upscale neighborhoods turned into rivers, underpasses and flyovers were closed, and traffic came to a standstill for hours, with public buses suspended in several areas. Major tech corridors such as Koramangala, BTM Layout, HSR Layout, and Marathahalli were severely affected, disrupting daily life and business operations.
Among the fatalities was Shashikala D, 32, a sweeper at a private firm in Whitefield, who died when a compound wall collapsed. In another incident, a 63-year-old man and a 12-year-old boy were electrocuted while trying to pump water out of their flooded home in south Bengaluru.
BBMP Chief Commissioner Maheshwar Rao described the deluge as the second-highest rainfall recorded in the city in a decade. "Sometimes, things get out of hand — we are working on it," he said.
Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister D.K. Shivakumar expressed concern over the devastation. “I’m deeply troubled by the havoc. I’ve been in constant touch with officials. The issues we face today have been ignored for years across governments and administrations. The difference now is that we are working to resolve them — not with temporary fixes, but with long-term, sustainable solutions,” he said.
