The Bengaluru District Collector has declared a holiday for all schools and anganwadis in the city on Monday, October 21 due to heavy rainfall. This announcement came after the city experienced severe waterlogging and traffic congestion during the early hours of Monday. The statement added that the precautionary measure was taken in the interest of the students' safety, though the holiday does not extend to degree courses, post-graduate programs, engineering, and ITI classes.
The institutions will work on Saturday, October 26 or Sunday, October 27 to compensate for the loss of classes.
"Due to continuous rain in Bengaluru City District, a holiday has been declared on October 21 for all anganwadi centers, as well as private and aided primary and high schools, as a precautionary measure in the interest of students," the statement said by the Deputy Commissioner of Bengaluru Urban, G Jagadeesh, said.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert for Bengaluru, predicting more heavy rain and thundershowers, accompanied by lightning, over the next three hours. Several tech corridors, including Outer Ring Road and Sarjapur Road, reported significant waterlogging, leading to calls for work-from-home arrangements, though no official advisory has been issued yet.
In addition, Bengaluru Traffic Police have alerted that key areas such as CID Office, Palace Road, Gajendra Nagar, Nellasandra, Hosur Road, Siddapur Road, Wilson Garden, Jayamahal Road, JC Nagar, Coffee Board Layout, Bannerghatta Road, and Jayanagar are experiencing slow-moving traffic due to water accumulation. Commuters have been advised to avoid these areas if possible and cooperate with traffic authorities.
This weather is due to a broader cyclonic storm in the Bay of Bengal, which is causing heavy rainfall in parts of Karnataka and across coastal India. Regions such as South Interior Karnataka, Gujarat, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh are also expected to experience heavy rainfall according to the IMD.
