BENGALURU: It was a nightmare for commuters as main roads in and around Whitefield, especially around Eco Space, were flooded due to water logging on Tuesday morning. Many vehicles were stranded in traffic for over four hours on the Outer Ring Road.
Water logging was reported on Marathahalli Road, Bellandur, Varthur Main Road and HSR Layout among others. The situation was so bad that in some places, even traffic police officials had to clear rainwater to make sure traffic flows smoothly.
Residents complained that no pumps were deployed by the city corporation to clear the stagnant water on the roads because of which vehicle movement in many low lying areas came to a standstill. Ironically, the areas where flooding happened were those where the BBMP claimed to have desilted the drains.
Commuters vented their anger on social media, sharing video footage on the slow moving traffic.
Lokesh BM, a resident of Marathahalli said, “I was driving my car to Manyata Tech Park, and it took almost an hour to drive 5 km. My car engine turned off when water reached it. I left home at around 8 am and managed to reach my office at 11 am.”
Giriraj M K, a biker, was stuck between cars and buses in the slow moving traffic. “I had no option to escape the flooded roads. I noticed a couple of bikers fall as they tried to ride on the footpath,” he said.
Prasanna, resident of Marathahalli, took two-and-a-half hours to cover a distance of 5 km. “That’s Bengaluru for you after rains! A city which is India’s IT hub deserves better infrastructure and better policies. Metro work coupled with white topping has made life hell along the city’s outer ring road for commuters on a daily basis and the rain only makes matters worse.”