Bengaluru witnessed heavy rains for the second consecutive day on Friday. Although the showers gave much-needed relief from the summer heat, many parts of the city were waterlogged after the two-hour-long downpour, which became a cause for concern for those residing in low-lying areas.
Many people posted pictures of water-logged roads on Twitter after the downpour and complained about the inconvenience caused due to the same. Kengeri, Peenya, Malleswaram, Chickpet, Golf course road and other areas reported heavy rainfall. In parts of the city, stormwater drains that have been littered with garbage overflowed as well.
#JustIn: As if the Covid pandemic was not enough, Friday's rain left Bengaluru even more worried! Layouts, apartments flooded in Central, South #Bengaluru. Pics: Dinesh SK, Irshad Ahmed. @DeccanHerald @BBMPCOMM @BSYBJP #CovidIndia #Rains #Thunderstorms #weather #flood pic.twitter.com/JURqTqkhtN
— Niranjan Kaggere (@nkaggere) April 23, 2021
A Twitter user posted a video of a recently white-topped road in Jayanagar and the terrible state it was in owing to the rains. The user wrote, “Jayanagar East end. Newly white-topped road. Completely flooded, dangerous to ride. I have a few a video taken from 39 cross junction on the road earlier today. This white-topping work was worthless!”
A report in Deccan Herald highlighted that the traffic was disrupted around areas such as KR Market, Majestic and Yeshwantpur. Motorists were forced to take shelter in nearby bus stops, metro stations, and other public spaces.
According to CS Patil, a professional attached with India Meteorological Department’s Bengaluru office, the showers are categorised as pre-monsoon rains. The Hindu quoted him saying that a trough [a low-pressure atmosphere caused by air movement] formation in interiors of Karnataka prompted the rains.
Many residents also noted that the rains were accompanied by hailstones. Patil told The Hindu that hailstones along with the pre-monsoon showers or monsoon showers are common.
The department has issued a yellow warning — heavy rainfall and thunderstorm — for Saturday. Many interior parts of Karnataka including Bengaluru Urban and Rural, Hassan, Kodagu, Chikkamagaluru, Kolar, Shivamogga, Mysuru, and Mandya will likely see heavy rains for four more days.
The Friday showers were also accompanied by a power cut, which affected many areas of the city and posed a major problem for those working from home. In some areas, the power has still not been restored. A Twitter user from Borewell Road, Whitefield wrote that the power was not restored in the area since Friday evening.