K'taka: Three, including a child, killed in rain-related incidents

Bengaluru, May 19 (IANS) Three persons, including a nine-year-old boy, were killed in rain-related incidents on Monday following heavy rainfall in Bengaluru.

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.

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

In another incident, two persons, including a young boy, were killed in an electrocution incident reported from BTM Layout in Bengaluru on Monday evening.

The deceased have been 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.

The incident occurred at Madhuvana Apartment located in N.S. Palya, 2nd Stage, BTM Layout. The Mico Layout police rushed to the spot and shifted the victims to St. John’s Hospital.

Bengaluru recorded 132 mm of rainfall on Sunday night. The Meteorological Department has predicted heavy rain for Monday night (May 19) and May 20 as well.

Several software companies in Bengaluru have advised employees to work from home due to worsening traffic conditions. Authorities remain on high alert as the situation develops.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that only a few locations were visited on Monday, considering that traffic congestion in the evening could inconvenience the public.

He announced that a full-day city inspection would be carried out tomorrow, May 21, along with the Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar and Bengaluru MLAs.

Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar on Monday said that the BBMP has fixed 70 per cent of the 210 flood-prone areas identified in Bengaluru city, while work on the remaining 30 per cent areas is going on.

Speaking to reporters at the BBMP war room, he said, “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 of those localities. Flood prevention work is currently going on in 24 areas, while work will be taken up soon in the remaining 20 areas. We have built 197 km of stormwater drains.”

“The traffic police have identified 132 spots which are flooded during heavy rains. Of these, we have rectified issues in 82 spots, and 41 spots are yet to be fixed. We are spending Rs 2,000 crore for storm water drains,” he said.

--IANS

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