From luxury cars to tractors, Bengaluru billionaires face a bad week

Bengaluru, Sep 07: The continuous downpour in Bengaluru in recent days has completely wreaked havoc on the lives of those living in India's Silicon Valley. Not just those living in the low-lying areas but even the billionaires are also bearing the brunt of unplanned development in the city. Experts say rapid construction, fast erosion of famous lakes and gardens, and poor urban planning are to blame for the crisis.

Angry citizens are sharing distressing videos on social media that show severe waterlogging, highlighting the amount of trouble they are facing. One of the videos shared by a user shows how high-end cars like Lexus, BMW, and other luxury brands, Range Rover SUVs, and a Bentley among other ultra-expensive cars submerged in one of the city's posh areas where the elite reside.

The video shows some residents of Divyasree 77 East in Bengaluru's Yemalur being rescued on a tractor; the camera turns and shows a Lexus NX SUV and a Lexus sedan, Bentley Bentayga, Audi Q5 and even Land Rover Range Rover submerged in the water. These cars are parked in the homes of the residents.

While the employees including the CFO and CEO of the companies are using tractors and various other means to reach their work, there are many others who are getting rescued by the tractors.

On Tuesday, 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," he tweeted.

The Chief Operating Officer of his company, Vivek Sinha, shared what the view from his patio looked like.

Meanwhile, many IT companies have asked their employees to work from home for the rest of the week and many schools have gone back to online classes. India's army has deployed boats to rescue stranded people.

The Indian Meteorological Department ( IMD)'s local office said the last time it rained so heavily in the month of September was in 1998. And people who drove through flooded streets described the horrors they felt.