Unseasonal rain chokes Bengaluru traffic

A nearly 40 minute unseasonal rain early on Tuesday disrupted normal life here due to waterlogging and consequent traffic snarls across the city.

"The sudden rain during peak hour affected students and office-goers as many roads, including thoroughfares, were inundated and jammed due to piling of vehicles in hundreds for three to four hours," the city's chief traffic warden M.T. Nayak told reporters.

With over five million vehicles plying in the city of 10 million people, hundreds of constables had a tough time tackling the traffic at many intersections as roads in low-lying areas were waterlogged and traffic signals went haywire due to power disruptions.

The rain occurred when thousands of students were on their way to schools and colleges using private or public transport, and so were officer-goers, including techies to IT firms in and around the city.

"Vehicles entering and leaving the city compounded the situation," Nayak said.

The worst affected areas were Hosur Road, Mysuru Road, Tumakuru Road and the road leading to the airport as thousands of vehicles from within the city and from highways choked the inner and outer ring roads.

According to the weather department, westerly disturbances and high velocity winds brought untimely rains to the city and other parts of the state.

"The weather will remain cloudy and windy with prospects of showers or light to moderate rains in and around the city over the next two days," Bengaluru meteorological department director B. Puttaniah told IANS.