Bengaluru, Apr 18: Torrential rains that lashed Karnataka’s capital and surrounding areas on the eve of Lok Sabha polls claimed at least three lives casting a shadow on the turnout for Thursday’s election.
The heavy rain, spanning more than two hours coupled with gusty winds in Bengaluru and adjoining districts, resulted in the uprooting of trees across Bengaluru and surrounding areas. While a motorist was killed in Bengaluru after a tree fell on him, two people died in Doddaballapur due to wall collapse.
According to the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC), the sudden rain was attributed to the formation of a trough over the peninsular region due to a cyclonic circulation over the Bay of Bengal.
According to the forecast, North-South trough and wind discontinuity over Karnataka region will result in moderate to heavy rainfall in South interior Karnataka for the next two days along with thunderstorms. Bengaluru Urban and Bengaluru Rural received the highest rainfall.
The whole of the city, barring a few areas in North Bengaluru, witnessed uniform rainfall. Areas in East and South Bengaluru witnessed the highest rainfall, resulting in waterlogging until late evening.
Meteorologists say a steadily building trough and discontinuity of winds over the peninsula caused the heavy downpour. East Bengaluru — Banaswadi, Ramamurthy Nagar and Thanisandra — recorded 70 mm of rain in just two hours. The rain claimed the first victim of the season as a huge tree near Lumbini Gardens in Nagawara fell on a passing motorist.
Hebbal police identified Kiran (27) as the deceased, a courier for a private firm. Kiran was caught in the sudden showers and strong winds while returning home. As he was passing under a tree, a branch suddenly fell on his head. Though passersby rushed to his aid, Kiran, a native of Kunigal in Tumakuru district, had already breathed his last.
Similarly, heavy rain lashed areas in South and West Bengaluru. Nagarabhavi, Jayanagar, Hampi Nagar and RR Nagar witnessed more than 25 mm of rainfall. Sudden showers waterlogged low-lying areas in various BBMP zones.
A senior Palike official, monitoring the situation in all the zones, said Banaswadi and Ramamurthy Nagar received the highest rainfall, followed by a few areas in South and West Bengaluru. “Nineteen trees were uprooted. Over seven electricity poles fell. We have deployed our Prahari team and other officials to remove the trees and clear the area for traffic,” the official said.
According to Bescom engineers, the rain brought down 48 electricity poles. In 57 localities, tree branches fell on electric cables, disrupting power supply. The helpline received over 4,000 complaints of power outages. “Our engineers and field staff have restored power in many areas,” a senior official said.
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