NEW DELHI: Particularly heavy monsoon rains have flooded parts of the Indian technology hub of Bengaluru, forcing people there to use any means possible to get to work and go about their day.

Employees of large information technology companies drove to work by tractor. Travellers did the same to get to the airport, television channel NDTV reported on Sept 7.

Their work would be affected if they missed too many days at the office, one employee driving a tractor told the Indian news agency ANI.

Bengaluru, which was formerly known as Bangalore, is home to offices of international information technology firms such as Amazon, Google and SAP, which is why the burgeoning metropolis in southern India is also known as India’s Silicon Valley.

An association of such companies in Bengaluru said that the current intense rains had led to losses of around 2.3bil rupees for its members.

The large amount of water on the roads also led to traffic jams and quite a few buildings being flooded. Several information technology companies instructed their employees to work from home.

Heavy rains causing severe flooding and landslides are normal in the monsoon season in South Asia. The monsoon usually lasts from June to September.

The damage is often extensive. Whole houses are washed away and there are always fatalities - but the rain is vital for agriculture, on which a large part of the population lives.

Scientists say that, in view of climate change, particularly heavy rain is becoming more frequent.

 - dpa