Bengaluru's traffic nightmare: Techies stuck in IT corridors for hours, many return home

Bengaluru traffic: Twitter users shared photos of the congestion on Bengaluru roads. (Image: ImMPK/Twitter)

Bengaluru, known as the Silicon Valley of India, has long been plagued by notorious traffic congestion. Every day, thousands of commuters find themselves stuck in long queues, trying to navigate the city's chaotic roadways. Despite being an ardent supporter of the city's traffic management, and following a mantra of leaving early to avoid gridlocks, even Chandramouli Gopalakrishnan, a usually optimistic employee of a large multinational company, recently expressed his frustration on Twitter.

He tweeted, "I am one of those who don’t buy into the Bangalore always has bad traffic commentary. But today I have lost it too. My usual argument of, if you want to avoid traffic start early, has been debunked. I started at 7:40 am from home and I am still on the road for a 6km commute." His tweet came at 9.18 am, after being stuck for over 1.5 hours on a 6km journey.

Gopalakrishnan's tweet resonated with many who have experienced the maddening traffic situation in Bengaluru. His usual tactic of starting early to avoid congestion failed as he found himself trapped on a 6-kilometer commute for hours, starting from 7:40 am.

When asked about the location of the traffic, Gopalakrishnan pointed out the Koramangala to Outer Ring Road/Sarjapur signal area, HSR Layout, Ibbalur and the mess surrounding Agara road closures in recent mornings. Such specific problem areas indicate that there are bottlenecks and roadblocks that exacerbate the traffic situation.

Kora to ORR/Sarjapur signal. HSR, iblur is all a mess. The Agara road is closed in the mornings these days. I don’t know why.

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— g_c_mouli (@gcmouli) May 16, 2023

A fallen tree, blocking the road, is all it took to create the congestion this time at the Outer Ring Road.

"A truck hit a tree near the military gate of the service road near Ibbalur on the ORR and the tree fell down causing traffic congestion. Motorists coming from Silk Board towards Ibbalur Junction are hereby requested to move on an alternate road route (sic)" tweeted deputy commissioner of police (traffic south division) Sujeetha Salman.

A breakdown of a commercial vehicle on a service road towards Ibbalur was also the culprit behind the congestion.

Bengaluru Traffic Police took to Twitter to issue a traffic advisory, but well after 9 am, informing commuters about a slow-moving traffic situation caused by a heavy commercial vehicle breakdown in the service road from 27th Main towards Ibbalur. While they assured that the situation would be resolved soon, it undoubtedly added to the already congested roads.

“Traffic Advisory: Slow moving traffic due to a HTV breakdown in service road from 27th main towards Ibbalur. It will be moved shortly. Kindly co-operate,” the city’s traffic police tweeted.

Due to this struck in traffic, left home at 7.20 am, will reach ecospace by 10 am, makes ones question life's choices choosing this profession pic.twitter.com/Rylj7mlBKF

— Andy Iyengar (@andy_iyeng) May 16, 2023

Numerous other individuals expressed their grievances on social media, providing a glimpse into the daily struggles faced by Bengaluru commuters. One user wrote about spending three hours on the road, eventually giving up and returning home.

Another Twitter user, Ankit Vengurlekar, a popular content creator, captured the intensity of the traffic situation in Bengaluru. He posted a video alongside his comment, stating, "Tuesday mornings are a special kind of hell on Bangalore roads. Absolutely nuts and completely insane. No normal city should be so broken, but then this is India's Silicon Valley." His sentiments reflect the frustration and disbelief experienced by many in the face of the city's perennial traffic problems.

Tuesday mornings are a special kind of hell on Bangalore roads. Absolutely nuts and completely insane. No normal city should be so broken, but then this is India's silicon valley. pic.twitter.com/1PYRsrvgrJ

— Ankit.Today (@ankitv) May 16, 2023

Bengaluru’s growing population, inadequate infrastructure, unplanned urbanisation and lack of effective public transportation options, all contribute to the city's traffic nightmares. The public infrastructure in the city's tech corridor was a key election issue in the recently concluded Karnataka assembly elections.

Transparency and communication from the authorities are crucial. But this time, the advisory came a tad bit late when commuters had already begun their long-drawn journey.

It was only after noon, that the traffic police shared an update that the vehicle blocking the road had been removed and traffic was restored.