"Things Are Bad": CEO's Family Evacuated In Tractor In Flooded Bengaluru

As daily life in much of Karnataka's Bengaluru continues to be disrupted by floods caused by torrential rains, a constant stream of distressing videos show neither the wealthy nor the poor have been spared. Many IT employees in India's Silicon Valley have used tractors to go to work due to major waterlogging in the city, while houses in slums have also been completely submerged. Several social media users have called the crisis a great leveller.

Earlier today, ed-tech platform Unacademy's CEO Gaurav Munjal shared a video of his family and pet dog being evacuated on a tractor after his residential society was flooded. 

"Family and my Pet Albus has been evacuated on a Tractor from our society that's now submerged. Things are bad. Please take care. DM me if you need any help, I'll try my best to help," he tweeted, along with a short video of the tractor wading through water.

Family and my Pet Albus has been evacuated on a Tractor from our society that's now submerged. Things are bad. Please take care. DM me if you need any help, I'll try my best to help. pic.twitter.com/MYnGgyvfx0

— Gaurav Munjal (@gauravmunjal) September 6, 2022

Several areas are still flooded, with houses and vehicles partially inundated, affecting normal life.

Another video shared by Karnataka Congress General Secretary Rakshith Shivaram showed luxury bungalows inundated, with high-end cars half under water. The video clip shows people being evacuated on a tractor, crossing through Epsilon, a super high-end residential space in Yemaluru.

"These are houses worth more than 30Cr," he tweeted.

These are houses worth more than 30Cr #bangalorerains pic.twitter.com/6D5z29AKLd

— Rakshith Shivaram/ರಕ್ಷಿತ್ ಶಿವರಾಂ (@Bkrs_Rakshith) September 6, 2022

Several areas of Bengaluru remain waterlogged following heavy rainfall causing inconvenience to locals. People boarded tractors and cranes to make their way to their workplace through the flooded roads. Water supply to some localities has also been disrupted after a pump house in Mandya was flooded. Efforts are on to drain water out of the low-lying areas, officials said.

On the third day of flooding, several areas remain waterlogged. Traffic movement has slowed down to a crawl as some key roads are inundated.

The waterlogging in the city has brought into focus the consequences of unplanned urbanisation. The Bengaluru civic body has identified encroachment on 500 storm water drains that have now left the city choking in water.