Bengaluru traffic on 'Holi-day': Empty Outer Ring Road elates commuters

Bengaluru and its 'infamous' traffic have made its residents accustomed to leaving their homes well before time to reach destinations even within a few kilometers.

This subconscious awareness was challenged on March 14, the day India celebrated Holi, as Bengaluru's Outer Ring Road (ORR) was nearly-empty with only a few vehicles on the road.

An X user shared pictures of the ORR, the 60-kilometre-long road which connects major highways and IT hubs of the city and has a toxic affinity gridlocks, especially during rush hours.

"Today’s Holi, Namma Bengaluru ORR Traffic has taken a Holi-Day," the user wrote along with sharing a screenshot of Google maps glowing in blue without any traffic congestion.

The user shared another post and wrote, "Can we have a Holi-Day on the remaining 364 days too."

Other Bengalureans were also elated with this unusual sight and shared their reactions in the comment section.

"Ah sheer bliss," exclaimed one of the users.

"This is THE ideal travel time .. 20km should actually take 35mins . Unfortunately on normal days 1km takes 35mins... So much time and fuel wastage (sic)," wrote a user, while another one shared, "Panathur underpass was also empty."

Some users also pointed out that traffic on the Outer Ring Road can be reduced if Bengaluru Metro's blue line becomes functional. "Can easily reduce traffic when blue line opens."

A few days back, Bengaluru's never-ending traffic woes had caught the attention of social media with Mohandas Pai, former CFO of Infosys, sharing a satirical social media post which featured an 'advertisement' for a "4-day, 3-night Bangalore traffic tourism" package.

The post that Pai shared featured the city's worst congestion points - Outer Ring Road, Silk Board Junction, Marathahalli, and HSR Layout as tourist destinations.

Pai sharing the picture wrote, "A sad joke on Bengaluru. At least we have a sense of humor about our suffering and an uncaring government."