Three people, including a nine-year-old boy, were killed in rain-related incidents on Monday as extremely heavy overnight rain brought Bengaluru to its knees on Monday.

Shashikala, an employee of a private company, succumbed to injuries after a wet compound wall suddenly collapsed on her in Whitefield on Monday morning. She was walking towards Channasandra when the wall gave way and fell on her, resulting in her death.

Later, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh from the government for Shashikala’s family.

In another incident, two persons, including a young boy, were electrocuted at BTM Layout in the city on Monday evening.

The deceased were identified as 55-year-old Manohar Kamat and nine-year-old Dinesh, a native of Nepal. According to police, both were electrocuted while attempting to pump rainwater out of the apartment’s basement using a motor.

With the heavy downpour, locals were seen through water, and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel, who launched evacuation efforts, also faced challenges due to a shortage of boats.

A video from the Silk Board Metro Station showed heavy waterlogging after hours of downpour in the city.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) data, Bengaluru city received 105.5 mm of rainfall during the 24 hours ending 8.30 am on May 19. The last time it rained this heavily during this month was on May 18, 2022.

Incidentally, the record for May stands at 153.9 mm, which was set on May 6, 1909.

BENGALURU RAIN TRIGGERS POLITICAL BLAME GAME

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) mounted an offensive against the ruling Congress, alleging that the crores of rupees spent over the last two years on the city’s infrastructure have yielded no results.

It attacked Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru in-charge DK Shivakumar for the state of affairs, even as the latter admitted Bengaluru’s problems were not new, but that the government was now working for a long-term fix.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the downpour was “unexpected," and that he has instructed officials to take up remodelling and de-silting clogged stormwater drains (SWD).

Later, in an X post, DK Shivakumar wrote, “Flooding issue resolved in 70% of the identified areas of Bengaluru, remaining to be fixed soon."

“We had identified 210 areas as flood-prone in Bengaluru. Ever since I took over as the Bengaluru Development Minister, we have fixed flooding issues in 166 (70%) of those localities. Flood prevention work is currently going on in 24 areas, while work will soon be taken up in the remaining 20 areas. We have built 197 km of storm water drains," Shivakumar added, as he shared a video of his remarks during a press meet at the BBMP War Room earlier today.

Meanwhile, several software companies in the city advised employees to work from home due to worsening traffic conditions.