Bengaluru’s notorious rain-induced traffic woes resurfaced again, this time with a massive traffic jam in Electronic City. Commuters were stranded on the Electronic City flyover for over three hours as heavy rains caused a gridlock under the flyover. Frustrated by it, many IT employees reportedly abandoned their vehicles and walked home on the night of Wednesday, October 23, according to The Times of India.
Sharing a video of the heavy traffic jam and the chaos which prevailed, they reported, “Thousands of people got off their company vehicles/buses & walked towards their homes on Wednesday night following a massive #TRAFFIC #JAM on and below the #ElectronicCity flyover after rains. People were stranded on the flyover for around 3 hours!.”
Earlier on October 22, the Karnataka government had issued an advisory to companies asking their employees to work from home in view of the rains. As per the advisory, employees were requested to work from home on Tuesday and Wednesday. However, due to company mandates, several employees were forced to go to the office on Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, the government had already declared a public holiday for schools, anticipating heavy rains. However, higher education institutions, including degree, postgraduate, diploma, engineering, and ITI colleges, remained operational.
This marks the third time in a week that schools had to be closed due to rainfall. To make up for lost instructional hours, the government has directed schools to hold extra classes on Saturday afternoons or Sundays.
Severe flooding affected Bengaluru North after a thunderstorm hit the region on October 22 night. While water receded from most homes and streets, some areas still face stagnant water.