The underpass on the Croma-Balagere service road in southeastern Bengaluru has been flooded since Tuesday, causing uncertainty about when the water will be cleared, and traffic can resume.
Tuesday’s heavy rains resulted in the flooding, affecting the traffic flow on the Panathur railway underpass, main road, and Balagere Road. Traffic congestion and slow-moving vehicles have been reported on the stretch.
HAL Airport traffic police are unable to ascertain the cause of the flooding in the service road underpass. To manage the situation, they have deployed additional personnel to handle traffic on the Panathur railway bridge. They have urged commuters to avoid the stretch if possible and use Varthur Main Road instead.
A senior traffic police officer said repeated efforts to get the BBMP to check the area did not result in any action. He said: "There is only so much we can do. We have repeatedly tried to bring the waterlogging issue to the notice of the officials concerned, but they have shown no initiative to fix it because they do not consider it a road."
People who frequently use the road took to Twitter to comment under the update by the traffic police about the increased commute time caused by the clogged underpass.
One Twitter user, Ashis Sahoo, said: "Due to this, Panathur RUB (railway underbridge) is experiencing unbearable traffic. School kids stuck for hours. Emergency vehicles cannot pass. Any permanent solution in sight? New RUB built by @SWRRLY (Southwestern Railway) a year ago is still not in use because BBMP can't build approach road due to land acquisition (sic)."
BBMP officials were not available for comment.
Published 15 June 2023, 18:58 IST