BENGALURU: Due to heavy rainfall over the past three days, waterlogging, ongoing construction, uprooted trees and fallen branches severely impacted commuters across the city, resulting in significant traffic jams and slow-moving vehicles. While the rains over the weekend may not have disrupted traffic much, Monday saw severe congestion as the public headed to work amid flooded roads.
Videos of waterlogged streets and commuters struggling to navigate them have gone viral on social media. In a few localities, parked vehicles were submerged, and commuters were seen pushing their vehicles through knee-deep water. The fallen trees and branches due to wind blocked the roads in many places. The Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) also closed the Electronics City flyover due to waterlogging at Roopena Agrahara, along with several underpasses across the city.
Traffic congestion and slow-moving vehicles were reported in multiple areas on Monday morning, including the Central Business District, Outer Ring Road (BTM Layout), both sides of the Silk Board Junction, the Vidyashilp Railway Underpass towards Kempegowda International Airport, HSR Layout (multiple locations), NICE Road, Kanakapura Main Road, Muthanallur Junction, Sony World Signal, Lowry Railway Underpass towards Mahadevapura, Carmelaram Road in Sarjapur, Hennur Underpass, Balagere I Cross, Ananda Rao Circle, Indiranagar, RR Nagar, Bhashyam Circle, Allalasandra, and Kasturi Nagar.
In addition, ongoing BBMP white-topping work, BMRCL Metro construction, and road closures have worsened the situation. Alternative routes are witnessing severe congestion and slow traffic movement.
A commuter, Kishor from Koramangala, told TNIE that due to heavy rainfall on Monday afternoon, reaching home from his office was a horrible experience because of slow-moving traffic. He mentioned that it usually takes him 30 minutes to travel from UB City to his home, but on Monday evening, it took more than an hour. Waterlogging on the roads and pothole-ridden stretches made it extremely difficult to navigate, especially on a two-wheeler, he said.