Massive traffic jam on Bengaluru's Outer Ring Road; traffic police issues advisory to IT companies

Traffic on Outer Ring Road

Bengaluru's tech corridor Outer Ring Road, witnessed an unusually massive traffic jam on September 27 evening.

According to police officials, many private firms instructed their employees to work from home on September 26 due to the Bengaluru bandh, and most of them returned to office the following day, contributing to increased traffic. In addition to this, many are headed out of the city on September 27 due to the upcoming extended weekend.

Lots of techies and other office-goers reported being stuck in traffic for nearly four hours, and even some school buses were caught in the gridlock on ORR.

Joint commissioner of police (traffic) MN Anucheth, told Moneycontrol, "This is mainly due to the cascade effect of the September 26 bandh. Many people have returned to work, and roads are not able to handle this traffic, especially compounded by rains and poor road conditions, including potholes."

"It's because of extended holidays starting from September 28, during which a significant number of people, including techies, left their premises simultaneously." he said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police-West (Traffic) Kuldeep Kumar R Jain, wrote on X (formerly Twitter), "There is a huge traffic pile-up on ORR from Marathahalli to Sarjapur. Please instruct IT-BT companies located on ORR not to rush out as there is a massive jam due to invariably high number of vehicles."

Also, read: Why Bengaluru's tech corridor, Outer Ring Road, needs an urgent fix

Outer Ring Road Companies Association (ORRCA) issued an advisory requesting member companies to advise their employees to extend their exit time due to the gridlock.

HAL airport traffic police officials said that the traffic volume is exceptionally high due to upcoming holidays. According to police, a large number of people are leaving Bengaluru ahead of the extended holiday period. September 28 is a holiday for Eid e Milad, many pro-Kannada organisations called for Karnataka bandh on September 29, followed by Saturday and Sunday, and October 2 marks Gandhi Jayanti.

Clement Jayakumar, secretary, Mahadevapura MLA's Task Force (Mobility), told Moneycontrol, "Even in the morning, commuters spent two to three hours on the ORR due to heavy traffic. Many school buses that left at 3 pm also encountered significant delays. The congestion worsened after 4 pm, particularly in the stretch between Ibblur and KR Pura."

He said that a large number of employees returned to their offices on September 27, following a day of working from home on September 26 due to a bandh. "Many people chose to leave the city on September 27 due to extended holidays, leading to increased traffic congestion during the evening hours."

Also read: Traffic cops propose carpooling, shuttle buses to ease congestion on Bengaluru's Outer Ring Road

Many techies posted on social media that they were stuck in traffic for more than four hours. They said that the cascading effect of this traffic congestion also affected other stretches of the road. Mahendra, a user, wrote on X: "Avoid the Outer Ring Road – there's heavy traffic on the Marathahalli, Sarjapur, Silk Board route. ORR employees are better off logging out at 9.00 pm to avoid the traffic."

@blrcitytraffic,lakhs are stranded in #ORR,#Mahadevapura for the past 2.5hrs. Hardly moved 3-4km in past 2hrs.Entire area grid locked.#Decongest & get serious about traffic management pls! @DKShivakumar @CPBlr @bellandurutrfps pic.twitter.com/EAvQSPnAae

— SaveBellandur(ಬೆಳ್ಳಂದೂರು ಉಳಿಸಿ) (@kdevforum) September 27, 2023

Work from office is a big joke in Bengaluru if company ask you to come to office on regular basis , 13kms = 2+ hour minimum travel. And most of the IT companies are in this route. #Bengaluru #Traffic #WFO #IT #ORR pic.twitter.com/hXzNS7W7ny

— Amar J L (@aamarjl) September 27, 2023

Extremely extremely bad traffic in BLR ORR today evening… my cars mileage dropped from Kilometres per Litre to Litres per Kilometre… I have covered 7 KMs in 2 Hrs so far from Whitefield to Marathahalli and got 5 more KMs to cover… :( #ORRCA pic.twitter.com/9pBThpL8VB

— Arvindh Prakash (@aarvindhprakash) September 27, 2023

@BlrCityPolice @blrcitytraffic @DKShivakumar Atrocious traffic on ORR, Bellandur, Marathalli, Sarjapur road area today. Kids are spending upwards of 2 hours in bus getting home. Professionals stuck at same place for hours. Please action.

— Santosh Rao (@nhe220) September 27, 2023

Constructed in phases over six years from 1996 to 2002, the 60-km ORR that encircles a large chunk of the city was intended to link major highways, facilitate faster travel, and alleviate congestion in Bengaluru.

The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) built the ORR to redirect heavy vehicles including trucks away from the inner city and ease traffic in the city centre. However, there has been a proliferation of tech parks and residential complexes on both sides of the ORR.

Bengaluru’s choked Outer Ring Road

The section in southeast Bengaluru, adjacent to IT offices in Whitefield and Sarjapur Road, has come to be known as the tech corridor. However, the poor design of the ORR, coupled with the lack of parallel roads, means that a single truck breakdown, fallen tree, or waterlogging in a small section can bring the entire tech corridor to a standstill.

Amazing level of traffic pile up (or jam) on the ORR today. Still 1.5 hours away from home. Have spent 45 minutes in the road as of now. pic.twitter.com/Q5PhIYhtPH

— Anurag Mathur  (@mathur_anurag) September 27, 2023

Worst traffic in Bangalore today. Stuck in marathalli outer ring road since 3.30 pm. Now it's 6.07pm. Please help us getting home @siddaramaiah . People trusted and voted you. @blrcitytraffic

— SHESHAN KANGOKAR (@sheshan_k) September 27, 2023

The ongoing Metro construction work has further compounded congestion issues on the ORR. The construction has reduced the road width, with 4.5 meters on both sides taken up by Metro work, leading to increased traffic congestion on the ORR. Service roads on ORR is also in a poor condition.