Petty shop turns coffin for vendor in Bangalore

A 45-year-old woman was washed away in her petty shop in the heavy rains that have been lashing Bangalore.

Lakshmi was asleep in her petty shop set up on the slab covering a storm water drain near Ulsoor lake when heavy rains lashed the City late on Saturday night and early hours of Sunday.

Due to flooding and water pressure, the slab over the drain caved in and the petty shop collapsed into the drain. Lakshmi, who had stayed behind in the shop due to the heavy rainfall, was swept in the gushing waters of the drain along with the petty shop.

The municipal authorities, who were struggling to extricate her body from the weeds and slush in the drain, said Lakshmi was trapped inside the shop and could not save herself. Fire force personnel, who accompanied the municipal authorities, fished out the box-shaped wooden shop that had been trapped in the slush of the drain.

Lakshmi, a widow, was a resident of a nearby Cox Town, who used to close the petty shop around 11.30 pm every night. But, on the fateful night, the rain fury prevented Lakshmi from venturing out of the shop. So, she had decided to stay put.

Her inconsolable mother Janakiamma received the tragic news only the next day on Sunday when she learnt that the shop had been washed away in the rain. She rushed to the spot along with her son Ramu to find Lakshmi’s body trapped in the slush and weeds in the drain.

Meanwhile, the heavy downpour had wrought havoc in various parts of Bangalore with water flooding several houses in low-lying areas, storm water drains overflowing with water, trees uprooted. Several roads in the City were also inundated with water and became unmotorable, causing inconvenience to a large number of people.