Woman drowns in waterlogged underpass in Bengaluru

A 22yearold woman drowned on Sunday after a car she was travelling in with her family got stuck in neckdeep water at KR Circle underpass just a stones throw from Vidhana Soudha the seat of power in KarnatakaFire and emergency services personnel saved five others of the family and the driver with the help of people who had rushed to save those trapped in the flooded underpass in the heart of the city The victim as well as the others were taken to St Marthas Hospital where doctors declared the woman identified as Bhanurekha deadLearning about the incident Chief Minister Siddaramaiah rushed to the hospital and took stock of the situation He announced a compensation of Rs five lakh to the next of kin of the deceased and free treatment for those admitted in the hospitalThe family from Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh had hired a car and come to see Bengaluru Bhanurekha works in Infosys Due to the downpour the barricade at the underpass fell down and the driver took the risk of crossing the underpass which he should not have Siddaramaiah told reportersAlso Read ED seizes funds worth Rs 826 crore of Chineseowned education company in BengaluruBhanurekha was 22 years oldWhen reporters who were covering the incident complained that doctors refused to treat Bhanurekha who was alive when she was taken to the hospital Siddaramaiah said he will get it investigated and initiate actionAccording to those present at the spot the car driver tried to zoom through the water but in the middle of the underpass the car almost got submerged The occupants of the vehicle came out frantically trying to save themselvesDue to the downpour and hailstorm the water level started increasing As the family started crying for help people nearby rushed to their rescueThey threw sarees and ropes to help them keep afloat Those entrapped tried to climb up but failed While two of them were dragged out by swimmers of the emergency services personnel others were brought out using a ladderThe survivors were rushed to the hospital where they found Bhanurekha dead Loud mourning ensued at the hospital when the survivors saw the lifeless body of their family memberAn autorickshaw was also trapped at KR Circle and a woman passenger saved her life by climbing on top of the vehicle The rescuers saved her tooMeanwhile several vehicles got trapped at an another waterlogged underpass near Majestic also in the centre of the city People struggled hard to come out of their vehiclesMany complained that the place gets flooded whenever there is heavy rainfall in the city and no measures have been taken to prevent itRainwater entered several houses too due to the sudden downpour in the cityAt Mahalakshmi Layout a prime area in the city water gushed into houses damaging furniture electronic goods and stored food grainsMany other areas were waterlogged including the posh areas like Malleswaram and Rajaji Nagar as well as Srirampuram certain areas in Kengeri Mysuru Road and several other lowlying areasTrees in various localities came down crashing damaging home and vehicles Traffic was thrown out of gear after trees fellWe are getting complaints of waterlogging and trees crashing from all over Bengaluru a Bengaluru civic agency official told PTIThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever