Evening showers leave Bengaluru flooded, trigger massive snarls at Whitefield

Evening showers on Saturday left several arterial and sub-arterial roads across the city waterlogged, leading to traffic snarls, vehicle breakdowns, and disruptions during peak hours. The situation was particularly severe in the eastern parts of the city, including Whitefield, Mahadevapura, and Varthur.

HAL Airport Road, connecting to Varthur Road, was among the worst-hit stretches, with commuters struggling through knee-deep waterlogging. The severe inundation also led to multiple vehicle breakdowns, causing prolonged congestion. Even ambulance movement was hit.

Commuters took to X to share their ordeal and questioned the functioning of the East Corporation despite it being the richest civic body.

A traffic police official told The Hindu that an overflowing stormwater drain in the vicinity compounded the problem. However, a corporation official explained that stormwater drain (SWD) works were currently underway in the area. Incidentally, the East Corporation Commissioner had visited the site on Friday to inspect the ongoing works and had directed officials to expedite them.

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

In north Bengaluru, severe waterlogging was reported near Vaddarapalya Junction on Hennur–Bagalur Main Road. The Hebbal up-ramp towards the airport also witnessed significant water accumulation. A purported video of traffic police officer clearing the waterlogging with bare hands near Hebbal went viral on social media.

A goods vehicle that had reportedly stopped after running out of fuel was rear-ended by a car, leading to heavy congestion and reducing traffic movement to a crawl on the airport-bound carriageway.

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