Evening showers leave Bengaluru flooded, trigger massive snarls at Whitefield

Heavy rains on Saturday evening flooded many main and main arteries in the city, causing traffic disruptions, vehicle breakdowns and disruptions during rush hour. The situation was especially serious in the eastern parts of the city, including Whitefield, Mahadevapura and Varthur.

HAL Airport Road connecting to Varthur Road was among the worst-hit places, with commuters struggling with knee-deep waterlogging. Severe flooding also caused multiple vehicle breakdowns, causing prolonged traffic congestion. Even the ambulance movement was hit.

The passengers went to X to share their distress and questioned the functioning of the East Corporation despite being the richest civic institution.

A traffic police official told Hindu It was observed that the overflowing rainwater channel in the vicinity exacerbated the problem. However, a company official announced that rainwater drainage (SWD) work continues in the region. Meanwhile, the Eastern Corporation Commissioner had visited the site on Friday to inspect the ongoing works and directed the authorities to speed up these works.

Ironically, while Varthur Road was severely affected by the waterlogging, the East City Corporation was posting on social media about the quick measures taken to clear the waterlogging in other parts of the city. However, rainwater entered numerous apartment complexes in the area.

In north Bengaluru, heavy waterlogging was reported near Vaddarapalya Junction on Hennur-Bagalur Main Road. Hebbal’s up ramp towards the airport also witnessed significant waterlogging. A video of a traffic police officer allegedly cleaning a puddle with bear hands near Hebbal has gone viral on social media.

A car crashed into a freight transport vehicle that reportedly stopped after running out of fuel, causing heavy congestion and slowing traffic flow on the airport-bound carriageway.

The worst affected areas included KEB Junction, Varthur Kodi Road towards Whitefield, Hegde Nagar Road towards Thanisandra, Madivala Ayyappa Underpass towards Madivala Police Station, Nexus Whitefield, Thubarahalli Road towards Siddapura and Varthur Kodi, GRT Junction and Siddapura Road towards Vibgyor U-turn.