Rains, traffic snarls cripple Bengaluru

Heavy rains and gutsy winds for the third consecutive day disrupted normal life across Bengaluru on Wednesday evening, as many arterial roads were inundated, bringing traffic to a standstill.

"An active northeast monsoon and well marked low pressure over east central and Arabia Sea are bringing rains to the city and many districts in the central and southern region of the state," a Met official told IANS.

Rain-bearing clouds played truant till late afternoon and an overcast sky with dark clouds opened up, pounding the city and its surrounding areas for over an hour, flooding low-laying areas and blocking vehicular movement.

"The city recorded 33.2 mm rainfall till 9 p.m., while it was 11.9 mm in the old airport area (eastern suburb) and 22.2 mm at the air force base in Yelahanka on the city's northern suburb," the official said.

With thousands of people, including officer-goers and employees from IT and biotech firms, leaving for homes from their work places during the peak hour, water logging, traffic signals snapping due to power cuts and manholes and potholes forced motorists and motorbike riders to move at a snail pace on many thoroughfares.

"We have set up a helpline 103 to guide motorists, two-wheeler riders and others stranded on choked roads for alternate route to ease the congestion," Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) M.A. Salim told reporters.

Police also posted messages on Whatapp, Facebook and Twitter, advising people to avoid roads where vehicles piled up for long time and maintain lane discipline to allow smooth flow of traffic.

The Met office has warned the 10-million denizens of the city of more rains, thundershowers and strong surface winds till this weekend as northeast monsoon remains vigorous over the Bay of Bengal and across Tamil Nadu.