Rain-soaked Malleswaram on Wednesday evening.
Credit: DH Photo/M S Manjunath
Bengaluru: Sudden evening showers, combined with heavy outbound traffic ahead of a long weekend, caused significant congestion on roads leading to the outskirts of the city.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the automatic weather station in Electronics City recorded 11.5 mm of rainfall by the evening, leading to a build up of vehicles in the outgoing lane after the toll on Hosur Road.
HAL Airport received 7.7 mm and Electronics City 12.5 mm of rainfall between 8.30 am and 11.30 pm on Wednesday, according to the IMD.
The area from Veerasandra Junction to Huskur Gate was completely flooded, further slowing down traffic. NICE Road, leading to the Electronics City toll gate, was also heavily congested.
The Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) reported that Shantipura in Electronics City Phase 2 received 38 mm of rain, while Konappana Agrahara recorded 30.5 mm. Parts of west Bengaluru also experienced a brief but intense downpour, with Sumanahalli Junction being flooded.
In addition to the rain, the influx of vehicles on Hosur Road before the long weekend exacerbated the traffic situation.
Around 5.30 pm, both the main and service roads were lined with crawling traffic. Hosa Road experienced waterlogging, initially attributed to a pipe burst, according to social media reports. However, a BWSSB engineer in charge of Stage V clarified that the issue was due to pipe cleaning and maintenance activities.
By late evening, heavy traffic congestion was reported on the Peenya flyover and Tumakuru Road, extending to Nagasandra, where vehicles were moving just 500 metres in over half an hour. Approach roads such as the Outer Ring Road, HMT Main Road, and Hesaraghatta Road also displayed streaks of red on traffic maps, indicating high volumes. Slow-moving traffic was also noted in the Central Business District (CBD) and on Ballari Road leading to Hebbal Junction in the north, as well as on Old Madras Road to the east.
Forecast till Friday
Expect a generally cloudy sky with light rain and likely thundershowers. According to the IMD, the maximum and minimum temperatures over the next two days are expected to be around 28°C and 20°C, respectively.