 "(Source: Twitter)")
Bengaluru faced a massive traffic jam on Wednesday, as vehicles were stuck on roads for hours. The city's Outer Ring Road (ORR) area was the worst affected, with people stuck there for over five hours and many commuters experiencing car breakdowns.
The city's tech corridor witnessed extensive traffic congestion due to various reasons, including protests organised by the "Karnataka Jala Samrakshana Samiti" against the Cauvery River water dispute, Ganesh Visarjan, and a show by comedian Trevor Noah, which was later cancelled.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic, East) Kuldeep Kumar R Jain said, "Huge traffic pile-up on ORR from Marathalli to Sarjapur. Please instruct ITBT companies on ORR not to rush out because it's a huge jam due to an invariably large number of vehicles."
The Mahadevapura task force, which provides regular updates on roads and traffic in the city, shared a picture of the severe traffic jam on the Outer Ring Road. The task force posted on X, "Traffic congestion heat map today as compared to a typical Wednesday. Bengaluru Traffic Police on the ground to manage the situation even now."
Traffic congestion heat map today as compared to a typical Wednesday
— Mahadevapura Task Force-Mobility (@MTF_Mobility) September 27, 2023
Bengaluru Traffic Police on the ground to manage the situation even now pic.twitter.com/Z9pzf8kf1d
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The task force advised people to leave their offices only after 8 pm to avoid traffic congestion. It stated, "The entire Ring Road is experiencing massive traffic congestion in the evening as well. In the morning, many people took 2-3 hours to reach the office. Please leave the office after 8:00 pm if you are still in the office."
Users on X (formerly Twitter) shared their experiences. One user said that a school bus dropped children back home from school at 8 pm due to the heavy traffic in Bengaluru. Another wrote, "Absolutely horrendous traffic today, took five hours to commute to and from the office. Bangalore traffic at its peak!" A third user said, "It took five hours to reach my room from the office today, which is just 10 km away. Average speed 2 km/hr. Horrible traffic in Bengaluru."
Moreover, one user noted that two-wheelers were riding on both sides of the footpath, leaving no room for pedestrians. "Traffic congestion at Bellandur leaves no place for pedestrians. Two-wheelers riding on both sides on the footpath. What actions are you taking to penalise the bikers?" the user inquired.
The surge in traffic may have been exacerbated by several factors, including comedian Trevor Noah's show, which was scheduled to take place in the Outer Ring Road area. However, the show was cancelled as Noah was stuck in traffic for over 30 minutes to reach his destination. Many people left their offices early to attend the show, leading to an increase in the number of vehicles on the ORR. According to reports, the vehicle count, which was expected to be between 150,000 and 200,000, reached 359,000 by 7:30 pm.
