As Bengaluru continues to receive rain, residents of the areas that faced much of the wrath of the downpour earlier this month are doing all they can to ensure they do not live the nightmare again. Many tenants living on the ground floor or basement levels in low-lying areas in and around Koramangala have started relocating to other apartments or homes, some in other parts of the city.
On August 15, the city received the highest rainfall in the last decade for August. On that day, India Meteorological Department’s HAL station recorded a rainfall of 14.4 cm and the city station 12.9 cm. Many localities in southern and eastern parts of the city were flooded.
Blaine Rodrigues, a media professional who was residing in the basement level of an apartment in Koramangala 4th Block, relocated to a third-floor apartment in the same locality on Saturday. “There was kneedeep water in the flat after the rain earlier this month. Several of my belongings such as fridge, mattresses, curtains, bookcase, and speakers were damaged. This is the second time in two years that this has happened. So, I decided to relocate,” he said.
Sudheer G., who has a three-storey building in Koramangala 4th Block, said his tenant vacated two days ago from the ground floor. “Several people are relocating elsewhere. Many tenants are relocating without serving any notice and are even forgoing their deposit as they want to move out quickly,” he said. He said landlords would have to look out for new tenants after the monsoon.
Predictably, real estate prospects of what is considered one of the most preferred localities in the city have been affected. Real estate agents said rents had dipped in the last 10 days in the area.
Venkatesh, a real estate broker in Koramangala, said after the floods, he had been receiving several calls every day asking for alternative locations.
He said many landlords had reduced rentals for basement and ground floor accommodation by 30% in commercial buildings and 15% in residential buildings in and around the stretch from Koramangala 80-ft Road to National Games Village. “Despite the dip in rentals, people are not willing to move to these places as they are aware of the consequences,” he said.
Parvathi Sriram, executive committee member, Residents’ Welfare Association, Koramangala 4th Block, acknowledged that rents had come down after the flooding earlier this month. She said several senior citizens who were renting out properties in low-lying areas were planning to sell the properties. She hoped that the authorities would work towards providing a permanent solution rather than adopting knee-jerk responses.
