Good morning, Bengaluru!
☁️ Today’s weather: High: 30 ℃ | Low: 20 ℃ | Cloudy day with a chance of rain.
🧐 Did you know? In 1937, the government of Mysore organised the first air services from Bangalore to Bombay as a joyride in partnership with the Indian Aviation Development Company.
🥏 Throwing the frisbee
Ultimate Frisbee is steadily gaining popularity among Bengalureans.
What’s it about? In the early mornings and late evenings, the National College grounds come to life with people throwing and catching a flying disc. It’s Ultimate Frisbee, which has been gaining traction among diverse participants.
- Sai Teja Repalle fell in love with the game at IIM Bangalore. In 2021, he started the Ultimate Frisbee community on campus. Team Disc’iples which began as a casual group has grown into a competitive team.
- For those who partake, the sport isn’t just for fun and competition, it’s also about fitness. Ultimate Frisbee also works well as a mixed-gender sport.
Challenges: The biggest challenge is the lack of open spaces. While Chennai has a beach where people play, those in Bengaluru have to rent turfs or use public grounds.
🏢 Companies fed up
IT companies are looking for options beyond the city amid infrastructure woes.
What’s it about? The recent rains and flooding have exposed the city’s infrastructure issues. Apart from residents, companies are frustrated and could reconsider setting up shop in the country’s IT capital. The frequent flooding has impacted businesses and the city is under pressure to address its issues.
- Mohandas Pai highlighted the growing dissatisfaction among companies. He said it risks Bengaluru losing out as companies will look to other cities and depriving Bengaluru of investments and jobs.
- Some citizens vented their frustrations and believed something drastic like companies moving away would spur officials to take action. It’s not just related to heavy rains and flooding, but extends to potholes, waste management, and poor urban planning.
Brand Bengaluru: The city’s success as a tech hub has been important for the state’s economic growth and attracting foreign investment. The repeated flooding has exposed the failings of civic officials and agencies.
⛈️ Record rainfall
Heavy rainfall this week broke records and resulted in the breach of at least two lakes.
What’s it about? With an orange alert for Bengaluru, the state government issued an advisory for tech companies to allow their employees to work from home. At least two lakes in the Yelahanka area were breached, resulting in flooding and traffic congestion in several parts.
- The banks of the Kogilu Lake in Yelahanka and the Doddabommasandra Lake in Vidyaranyapura were breached. The latter spread over 39 acres, resulted in flooding at Tata Nagar, Bhadrappa Layout, and Balaji Layout.
- Traffic on the Outer Ring Road in the Mahadevapura Lake Zone was chaotic after Bellandur Lake overflowed, resulting in flooding of service roads.
Record rainfall: The rain on Monday broke the record for the highest daily rainfall received by a weather station in the city, with 186.22 mm of rain. The previous record was 178.9 mm in October 1997.
☔ IT workers’ woes
Heavy rains, waterlogging and police advisory on Outer Ring Road left many tech employees stranded.
What happened? The heavy rains and waterlogging caused massive traffic jams on Outer Ring Road (ORR). It disrupted movement near the key tech corridors. The traffic police decided to close the gates of big tech parks to alleviate the issue, and left many employees stranded.
- An advisory was issued to companies in the ORR area that stated the police have closed the gates of tech parks to ease traffic. Many employees in tech parks like Eco Space and Eco World couldn’t leave after work.
- Some took to social media to vent their frustration about the traffic situation on ORR. One user said they covered just 4 km in two and a half hours.
Government advisory: The IT, BT, and electronics departments advised private companies to allow employees to work from home on Wednesday. The IMD issued a yellow alert for the city.
📊 Today’s Poll
(Only subscribers can participate in the polls)
Have you watched a night show of a movie?
- I have watched a night show of a movie.
- I haven’t watched a night show of a movie.
❓ Today’s Question
(Only subscribers can submit their answers)
If your life were a movie, what genre would it be?
Reply to this email with your answers.
🗞️ In other news…
- Five people were killed following the collapse of an under-construction building in Horamavu Agara.
- A tech entrepreneur created an app for citizens to rate and review the city’s potholes.
- Communities along Sarjapur Road who’ve been hit hard by flooding have demanded long-term upkeep of the Halanayakanahalli Lake.
- Namma Metro celebrates 13 years of operations as the 2nd largest in India.
- Five people were killed due to rain-related incidents as North Bengaluru bears the brunt.
🛋️ Local Lounge
Yesterday’s Poll:
- I have binge-watched a TV show: 100.0% 🏆
- I haven’t binge-watched a TV show: 0.0%
That’s it for today. Have a great day!