There's no way out

Bengalureans won’t disagree that it is tough to find their way around the City after an unexpected heavy downpour. Every downpour is followed by water logging and slow-moving traffic. Motorists, especially the two-wheeler riders, struggle to find their way out of this watery chaos.

The worst-affected areas are the underpasses such as the ones in Malleswaram, Hebbal and the one near Cox Town Market where waterlogging holds up traffic. The bad condition of the roads and deep potholes make it difficult for people to move. Bikes break down and cars get stuck because the stagnant water enters the engine of the vehicle, thus damaging it.

Citizens think the authorities are doing nothing to make the commuters’ life easy when it rains. Thilagar, a commuter, confesses that he moves around on a two-wheeler and finds it hard to wade his way through underpasses in the City after a heavy downpour. He points out that the low-lying areas in the City get flooded when it rains. “I am always in danger of losing my balance when I am riding. There’s no way for the water to drain out from the underpasses. It is bad enough that the traffic comes to a grinding halt and these water-logged areas make it difficult to commute,” he feels. 

The underpasses are among the worst maintained, feels Nazia, a software professional with IBM and a resident of CV Raman Nagar. She confesses that she dreads to venture into the central part of the City when it rains.

“Not only are the underpasses filled with knee-deep water, but it is also hard to get an auto. Rain or no rain, I wonder why the authorities are not doing anything to make commuting a stress-free affair?” she asks.

The roads in these underpasses are just as bad as they are in the other parts of the City and poorly lit as well.  The lack of a good drainage system and the accumulation of silt in the drainage due to the dumping of garbage cause havoc when it rains, feels John UB, another professional. “The manholes open up and the dirty water gets mixed up and stands clogged in these underpasses. There’s no space for the clogged water to flow out and if you are on a two-wheeler, be sure that you will get stuck and the vehicle will stop running,” John states. 

Areas like KR Puram are always congested when it rains but it’s worse in the central part of the City, feels Sreejith. He recollects that he has had a nightmarish experience getting out of water-logged underpasses.  “There’s no improvement on the roads both in terms of ensuring a smooth traffic flow and providing pothole-free stretches. The situation gets worse during the peak hours when the traffic almost doubles,” he sums up.