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Bengaluru records wettest June in 10 years; Karnataka braces for more rainfall
Garden city Bengaluru, known for its unusual weather, has broken another record by registering its wettest June in a decade, information from the Weather.com confirmed.
After recording the wettest April in seven years and coming close to recording its wettest May in history, the 'garden city' of Bengaluru reached another milestone by recording its wettest June in 10 years.
According to Weather.com, Bengaluru has recorded 198.5 mm of rainfall since June 1, breaking a 10-year-old record and making this month the wettest in a decade. The last time the city came close to breaking this particular record was in June 2016 when the city witnessed 191.3 mm rain.
Karnataka as a whole must brace for more rains, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. Coastal Karnataka is on orange alert till Friday while interior parts of north Karnataka are on yellow alert till Sunday.
Uttara Kannada, Dakshin Kannada and Udupi will be on orange alert until Saturday, with most other districts in interior Karnataka on yellow alert for the same period, Weather.com said.
Waterlogging, damage to trees, isolated flooding of low-lying areas, and traffic congestions can be expected in some districts, the IMD warned.
Incessant rains across the state this month led the government to declare multiple holidays for all schools and colleges. Bengaluru and parts of the state have has also struggled with crumbling infrastructure in some parts.
There were three rain-related deaths in the past week. A 28-year-old man was washed away in an overflowing drain near RK Puram on Friday, and two others a 62-year-old woman and a 33-year-old man, died after in wall-collapse incidents.
Last month chief minister Basavaraj Bommai announced compensation of ₹5 lakh to the families of those killed during the rains. The chief minister also announced ₹25,000 to families whose homes were flooded.
Two labourers were killed last month after they drowned as the water level inside the pipe they were laying rose suddenly.
The rains have also put a stop to several pending infrastructure projects and have damaged some completed ones. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) spent ₹6 crore in asphalting a road meant to be used during prime minister Narendra Modi’s visit on June 20-21.
It managed to serve its purpose but caved in a day later, on Tuesday.
In another similar instance, a newly-built bridge in Malnad in Chikkamagaluru district collapsed within a week after being opened for public use.
Residents of Bengaluru took to Twitter to express frustration at the quality of infrastructure in the city, with one user tweeting: "Patches of service road were dug up near Agara lake towards Sarjapur junction. 6 months and counting. The BESCOM dug holes are still holes. 2 wheelers nightmare when filled with water in rain. And these guys think they can bring Namma Bengaluru to 21st century."
