India’s ‘Silicon Valley’ flooded after heavy rains

Parts of the southern Indian city of Bengaluru, often called India’s Silicon Valley are under water after heavy rainfall.

The city is on high alert for more pre-monsoon showers on Tuesday due to cyclonic formations over the Andaman Sea, according to authorities.

Three people, including a 12-year-old boy, were killed in rain-related incidents on Monday.

Bengaluru is home to major global technology companies, many of whom have asked their employees to work from home due to flooded roads.

Many parts of the city received 100 mm (4in) of rain on Monday, a record since 2011.

This is “rare” for Bengaluru, CS Patil, a director at the regional weather department told news agencies.

Apart from severe water-logging and traffic disrupting daily life, heavy rainfall has also caused property damage.

In one of the city’s major IT corridors, the compound wall of a software firm - i-Zed - collapsed on Monday morning, killing a 35-year-old female employee.

Videos also showed commuters wading through knee-deep water, with several cars parked on waterlogged streets. Water has also entered houses in some parts of the city.

Authorities say the city corporation has identified 210 flood-prone areas where they were working round the clock to “rectify” the situation.

“There is no need for the people of Bengaluru to be worried,” DK Shivakumar, deputy chief minister of Karnataka state told reporters on Monday.

Karnataka, of which Bengaluru is the capital is currently run by the Congress party. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which sits in the opposition in the state has accused the local government of failing to tackle rain-related issues in the city and the state, despite spending million of rupees on its infrastructure.

The BJP has demanded the immediate release of 10bn rupees ($117m, £87.5m) for relief operations.

The state government has, however, defended itself saying these were long-standing issues.

“The issues we face today are not new. They have been ignored for years, across governments and administrations,” Shivakumar said.

Floods have been a recurring phenomenon in Bengaluru in recent years. Experts partly blame rapid construction over the city’s lakes and wetlands and poor urban planning for the crisis.

Officials are facing heavy criticism for the recurring problem on social media with many complaining about the city’s crumbling infrastructure and deluged roads.

Source: BBC

-Agencies