Heavy rain accompanied by gusty wind and hail lashed several parts of the city on Wednesday, and claimed the life of biker when a heavy branch of a tree fell on him on Outer Ring Road.
The deceased, Kiran, 27, hailed from Kunigal in Tumakuru district. He worked as a courier boy in the city. He was on ORR near Lumbini Garden on his way to Amrutahalli to deliver a parcel in the evening when the incident took place.
He suffered severe head injuries and died on the spot, said a police officer.
Citizens, especially people who depend on two-wheelers for their daily commute, expressed worry over the danger of branch and tree falls during the rainy season.
“It was a relatively young and healthy 10- to 12-year-old Akasha Mallige tree, and its branch had broken because of squall,” said Cholarajappa, DFO, BBMP.
According to Dr. G.S. Srinivasa Reddy, Director, Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC), the rains were accompanied by high-speed wind that may have crossed 30 kmph.
A total of seven trees fell in Hebbal area alone, in the vicinity of the accident spot.
Mayor Gangambike Mallikarjun said that the civic body had already taken up pruning of dry branches. “The branch that had fallen was not even a dry branch, but a healthy green one. It’s a sad accident,” she said adding that the BBMP will offer compensation to Kiran’s family after the model code of conduct is relaxed.
Traffic was thrown out of gear during evening peak hours due to tree falls and water-logging on many roads.
As many as 19 trees fell at Jayanagar, Nagarabhavi, Queens Road, Bommanahalli, Bannerghatta Road, Arakere, Kammanahalli and other areas. Mr. Cholarajappa said the wreckage was being cleared and it would be Thursday morning before all roads are cleared for traffic.
There was water-logging at Tin Factory junction in K.R. Puram and many junctions in the CBD. Nearly 25 houses were flooded in HBR Layout and in RR Nagar.
Mr. Reddy said that the rains were caused due to soaring mercury levels, which led to the formation of convective clouds over the city. This coupled with strong troughs in south interior Karnataka led to the rains with thunderstorm, hail and squall.
Several areas, including Banaswadi, recorded rainfall of 68 mm while most other areas recorded moderate rainfall in the range of 30-45 mm, according to KSNDMC. The KSNDMC has forecast moderate to heavy rainfall in the city over the next two days.
The rain also hit the plans of people heading out of the city to their home towns for casting votes on Thursday.