Bengaluru witnessed a bout of blustery winds and heavy rainfall on Saturday night, uprooting 117 trees across the city. It brought traffic to a standstill and the city faced hours of power cuts.
According to Sundar Metri, Director of the Indian Meteorological Department, the wind speed was at 50 kmph, which made the showers turn into a windstorm.
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s central control room received 117 complaints of fallen trees, three of which were fallen on vehicles. The Palike also received 17 complaints of waterlogging, the Times of India reported.
In OMBR Layout, a tree fell on three cars. Residents of the area managed to get two cars out from under the tree. Residents also alleged that the Palike workers had not shown up since the complaint was lodged on Saturday night.
The complaints filed from other parts of the city also had complaints that the Palike’s forest department was unresponsive, the report adds.
According to the report, residents were told that unavailability of cranes and vans, shortage in men to work were some of the reasons for the delay in response.
Koramangala was the worst hit as three major roads and 15 other inner roads were dug up by BWSSB for laying drainpipes over a month ago, a BBMP official told TNM.
“The sludge had made the road a nightmare to drive on. It has become extremely dangerous to drive on these stretches and BWSSB has not cleared out the mud, which they had dug up,” the official added.