That's exactly the headlines splashed on front pages of local dailies today.
It's been raining in Bangalore for several weeks now. But the last 10 days has been the heaviest downpour ever. The skies have broken 50 year rainfall records for October. Three of the biggest lakes in and around Bangalore have overflowed, destroying hundreds of acres of crop, flooding hundreds of houses, leaving many under 4 feet of water, and so far, 5 people dead. Prices of vegetables have doubled, and of onions have quadrupled. Reportedly 700,000 people are on the streets because their homes have been inundated. The skies have not spared the rich or the poor. Parts of highways leading to the city have caved in, and fears are that other peripheral and arterial roads might start caving in. It's quite a disaster. Much like the Mumbai episode, but not as bad, or so I hope.
Even yesterday, people who had dared to go to work at Electronics City (the small town that accounts for 1% of Indian GDP and where I work), spent at least 3 hours getting back home, and that's the minimum. Traffic across all peripheral roads leading to the IT corridor around Electronics City was gridlocked. My cousin, who lives in the same apartment building as me, was stranded in 1 place for an hour and a half; when it was still raining, traffic was jammed for many kilometers, and people had shut off their vehicles to lighten up with rain dance. My colleague was visiting his parent in another state had to take super-long deviations to get to Bangalore because the bridge across the river Cauvery was under water.
The annual IT showcase 'Bangalore IT.IN' which starts on Wednesday will have to stay content with its stalls and seminars and conferences, without many people to visit these, because the public at large will either be busy siphoning out water from their homes, or just too scared to get onto the roads and drive up to the venue.
For today and tomorrow, the government has closed all schools and colleges, with the possibility of closure for Friday as well. And guess what the weather-man says! The deluge will continue for at least another 48 hours. The government and the police have requested public to venture out for the next 2 days only if it is really necessary.
High speed internet and remote connect are such a boon. I've not left home for the last 5 days. Looks like I'll be in for a few more.
Otherwise, it's been a very long time since I wrote anything. I've been so busy, so busy, so busy. Even made a trip to Tokyo since the last web log. Maybe I'll take some time off and write about my trip to Tokyo and whats been happening with life lately.
Cheers
Mayur Poddar
