When it rains, Bengaluru braces itself for already bad traffic becoming far worse, with waterlogged roads, flooded houses, and even sewage overflows. Bengaluru is prepared for almost anything. But on Friday morning the city threw up a new surprise when commuters found people fishing on the roads.
Fifteen hours of almost continuous rain caused many of the city’s lakes to overflow onto main roads during peak traffic hours. As the waters flooded the roads, they brought along the lakes piscine residents. A radio station reported that fishermen, making most of the phenomenon, were standing on the roads trying to catch the live fish. Some people were even using bedsheets and blankets to catch fish.
Commuters captured the happenings near the city’s Madivala Lake.
Things got more serious at Kodichikkanahalli and Bilekahalli, near the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore where a breach in the lake flooded the neighbourhoods. The fire and emergency service personnel rescued citizens stranded in these areas on ferries.
The infamous Bellandur lake that recently has been spewing froth and catching fire from time to time has also overflowed its banks and caused flooding in neighbouring areas early Friday morning. Not surprisingly, commuters on roads near the lake had to navigate their way around or through froth yet again.
Stuck on the roads for hours on Friday morning, Bengaluru commuters also took the time to share what the gridlocked city looked like on Google maps and extended their sympathies to Gurgaon that was also brought to a standstill by the rain.
Although July started out as a relatively dry monsoon month in Bengaluru, the rains have come down on the city in the past week. Private weather forecaster Skymet has recorded 96 millimeters of rain in the last 72 hours, of which 38 millimeters have fallen in the last 24 hours itself. This month-end weather has helped Bengaluru overtake its monthly rainfall average of 108.9 millimeters and has made it the rainiest July in the last seven years. The city is expected to get more heavy rains in the next 48 hours.
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