Panathur Railway Underbridge submerged after rain, commuters struggle through hip-deep water

The late-night downpour on Saturday (September 19) left the infamous Panathur Railway Underbridge (RuB) flooded yet again, leaving commuters in the busy east Bengaluru locality in misery the next morning. The incident once again exposed the subpar road infrastructure in the eastern part of the city, a day after Varthur-Gunjur Road made the headlines.

Panathur RuB is a key connecting link between Gunjur, Varthur, and the Outer Ring Road (ORR). Several techies and employees of private companies on the ORR use the RuB regularly, as there are very few road options for areas around Varthur, Gunjur and Panathur to reach the ORR.

The Saturday night rain left the RuB flooded, with water coming up to the hip level. Several vehicles stopped midway through the RuB and had to be towed out of the underpass. Two-wheeler riders pushed their motorcycles through the stagnant water to reach the other side. Many used the pavement along the RuB to push their scooters.

Pictures and videos from the RuB began flooding social media on Sunday (September 20) morning, with titles such as “live from Panathur”, tagging the local MLA, Bengaluru Development Minister, and other authorities.

Manoj S., a techie who uses the stretch on a daily basis, explained that the Panathur stretch witnesses severe congestion during peak hours on weekdays and that if rain can cause such a disruption for even two or three days, the whole area will be paralysed.

“It’s a shame that connectivity to the stretch that gives this city a name as Silicon Valley is riddled with such issues,” he said. Many residents took to X to share their frustration, with one Shajith stating, “If we can’t fix such a basic underpass, how do we expect this government to build tunnel roads?”

A senior traffic police officer told The Hindu that the RuB has always been a problem, but the flooding this time was severe. “It was a Sunday, so there wasn’t much disruption to traffic, but such a situation on weekdays would lead to gridlock, especially because S-Cross stretch still witnesses congestion,” he said.

However, the situation at the RuB improved by the evening. Similar problems persisted in areas around Panathur, while towards the south, HSR and Hosur Road witnessed severe waterlogging on Sunday morning.