Tractors to the rescue as floods hit India’s Bengaluru

Authorities in the Indian city of Bengaluru have used tractors to rescue residents of posh housing estates marooned by floods, which killed at least one person.

Army teams were sent in after two days of torrential rain in India’s “Silicon Valley” during an unusually wet monsoon, which has brought 162 percent more rainfall than average since June 1.

“Things are bad. Please take care,” Gaurav Munjal, founder of the SoftBank-backed education technology firm Unacademy, said on Twitter after he, his family and his dog were rescued on a tractor.

With city streets submerged and traffic in chaos, many companies asked staff to work from home. Some city residents struggled to empty flooded basements and shops, video footage showed.

“Our businesses are very heavily dependent on people on the street – our delivery partners – and getting that sorted is the top priority,” said a co-founder of a startup unicorn, who did not want himself and the company to be named.

Even before the rains, the road and transportation infrastructure system of the city had been bad, said K Ganesh, an entrepreneur and promoter of companies Bigbasket and HomeLane, among others. “I hope this serves as a wake-up call to everyone.”

Floodwaters receded on Wednesday, allowing normal life to resume in parts of the city after two days of incessant rain. Environmentalists have blamed the flooding on poor urban planning.