Post-Diwali traffic influx overwhelms Bengaluru roads

Traffic police posted along Tumakuru Road and Old Madras Road had a difficult time managing the influx, which they noted began as early as 2.45 pm on Sunday.

Bengaluru: Bengaluru's traffic woes intensified on Monday morning as the festive mood began to fade and a surge of commuters flooded the city after the long weekend.

From early Sunday evening, those returning after Deepavali faced long delays on all eight major roads connecting Bengaluru to nearby towns and cities. By Monday morning, traffic jams were reported throughout the city, particularly on Tumakuru Road and Old Madras Road, where vehicles crawled for several kilometres.

Traffic police stationed along these routes struggled to manage the influx, which began as early as 2.45 pm on Sunday. "Vehicle movement was heavier than usual due to the large number of buses. The absence of a skywalk means pedestrians have no choice but to cross the roads at various points, further slowing down traffic. The situation persisted until about 10.30 am," an officer from the Peenya traffic police station told DH.

The congestion on Tumakuru Road extended beyond the Nagasandra metro station, with reports and videos showing commuters disembarking from buses and carrying their bags to the station. This resulted in long queues stretching down to the road below the metro line, at least 500 metres from the station.

The official Namma Metro account on X reported: "Today, between 6 AM and 11 AM, 15,800 passengers entered Nagasandra metro station after the festivities, compared to the normal 11,000 passengers. Many passengers with baggage had to be frisked for safety. We also implemented manual frisking to clear the rush with minimal delay."

Another user @JoshiRajath wrote, “Absolute chaos at Nagasandra metro! Queue extending till kennametal entrance (1km). had the green line extension till madavara been inaugurated, could easily be avoided! Politicians apathy citizens suffer! (sic)”

Commuters stranded at the station expressed frustration, noting that if the Green Line extension had been operational, this surge in passenger traffic could have been mitigated.

User @AyushmannRaina tweeted, “~500m queue to enter Nagasandra Metro Station. If the #greenline had been extended, the load could have been distributed across three additional stations.”

Another user, @JoshiRajath, added, “Absolute chaos at Nagasandra metro! Queue extending to Kennametal entrance (1km). Had the Green Line extension to Madavara been inaugurated, this could have easily been avoided! Politicians' apathy causes citizens to suffer! (sic)”

On Sunday night, the Kunigal bypass in Nelamangala also experienced severe traffic snarls, worsened by rain.