Bengaluru weather: Rain havoc leads to waterlogging and traffic chaos, commuters struggle to navigate inundated roads

Bengaluru traffic chaos due to heavy rain, leading to waterlogging, slow movement, and commuters facing transportation challenges.

Traffic came to a standstill or moved at snail’s pace across major roads in Bengaluru as rains lashed the city nonstop since wee hours of the morning on Tuesday (October 15, 2024), leading to waterlogging.

Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) issued advisories for several areas that witnessed traffic snarls, including Mahadevapura, Marathahalli, Seshadripuram, Sanjay Nagar, Hunasemaranahalli, Hebbal flyover and Outer Ring Road (ORR) and Bannerghatta Road as the roads got inundated due to rain.

According to the traffic police, the road near Sakra hospital and the railway underbridge at Panathur was inundated, resulting in slow movement of traffic. A stretch at Outer Ring Road (ORR) was also waterlogged. 

Slow movement of traffic was also reported from Mysuru-Bengaluru expressway area due to poor visibility.  For now, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has cleared water logging at underneath the Hebbal flyover. 

Commuters travelling to office, schools and colleges got stuck in traffic in places like Kengeri, Mysuru Road, Sarakki, J.P. Nagar, Goraguntepalya and Hebbal for 30-40 minutes. The same was also the case along the IT corridor in Whitefield, Bellandur, Silk Board and multiple points on Outer Ring Road. This led to many demanding that companies should give employees a work from home option if they cannot make it to office in the rain.

Many two-wheeler owners have remained inside homes opting for work from home as they are unable to ride in the rain. Naveen P.G., an IT worker said as he had mandatorily work from office, he had booked a cab. However, it took two hours to reach his workplace at Whitefield from Banashankari, he said.

“We got stuck for 40 minutes in Kengeri. Our college starts at 9 a.m., but we reached only at around 9.30 today because of the rain. Many other students faced the same plight,” said a college student.