Four days on in Bengaluru: Flood-hit areas back to normal, water recedes in apartments

BENGALURU: Four days after heavy rain wreaked havoc, life is returning to normalcy in the tech corridor of Mahadevapura. Roads have been cleared, traffic flow is smooth, and water is receding in many upscale layouts and apartment complexes.
The Outer Ring Road stretch from Silk Board to Marathahalli, Whitefield Main Road, Sarjapur Road, Yemalur-Varthur stretch and Kadugodi Main Road were free of waterlogging on Thursday. Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) officials said pumps have been kept on standby as the weather department has said heavy rain will continue till September 12.
However, people in the affected areas continue to suffer. Many residents are slowly coming to terms with the cost of fixing the damage, while many are still staying back in friends and relatives’ homes. Many apartment residents are busy pumping water out of the basements as water in stormwater drains (SWDs) is yet to be drained. BBMP continued its antiencroachment drive across the city, besides inspecting areas affected by flooding to identify obstructions on storm water drains.
The fire brigade has deployed pumps to drain out water in 70 places. Rescue operations have ended, said Amar Kumar Pandey, DGP, fire and emergency services. State Disaster Response Force rescued over 5,000 people over the past four-five days. The Outer Ring Road stretch near RmZ Ecospace is also clear, but whenever it rains a small portion of the road is still getting waterlogged since BBMP is yet to complete the work.
Some encroachments at Ecospace have been razed and the urban civic body is yet to take a final call on the demolition of a main building sitting on two water channels. Water level in Rainbow Drive, Epsilon, Divyashree 77 and Amarjyoti Layout has either gradually receded or has been completely drained. Shakespeare from Malibu Paloma apartment on Borewell Road said, “Life is slowly getting back to normal but we are continuously pumping the water out. The level has reduced.
This will stop only once the nearby rajakaluve is fully drained of water.” The health department has issued a circular to contain vector-borne diseases like dengue and malaria in the wake of the flood situation. It has directed the special commissioner to prepare government facilities to treat the diseases and carry out a larva survey to address the threat at source.
Ramesh from Rainbow Drive Layout said the water level has drastically reduced and their main gate will soon be opened for regular movement of community members. Residents are busy cleaning their homes and assessing the damage, he added. On Thursday, former chief minister Siddaramaiah visited Epsilon and Rainbow Drive Layout and moved around the areas on boats.