A section of the double-decker flyover connecting Ragigudda to HSR Layout in southeast Bengaluru witnessed flooding on Thursday night, leaving commuters stranded.

A Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) official told The Hindu that the situation was so severe that a few vehicles that entered the flooded stretch to avoid getting stranded stopped midway and failed to start again. This forced the BTP to barricade the up-ramp at Ragigudda, preventing vehicles from entering the flyover.

“It rained for almost 45 minutes after 7 p.m., and the flooding persisted till 9.30 p.m. Around 10 p.m., we reopened the flyover for operation,” the officer said.

Sources noted that neither South Corporation officials nor the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited, which constructed the flyover, arrived at the spot, and the BTP ended up clearing the flooding.

The problem has once again underscored the coordination issues between departments, despite eight months having passed since the formation of the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), with coordination being one of its core objectives. In this case, there is no clarity on whether the flyover maintenance has been handed over to the south corporation or if it still rests with the BMRCL.

Now, the BTP has written to both the BMRCL and the south corporation to ensure that they clear flooding if it occurs again in the future. According to the source, the flooding was caused by a clogged rainwater pipeline.

Aftermath traffic

In the aftermath of the flyover closure, parts of the BTM Layout witnessed traffic congestion. An officer said, “As the flooding was towards Silk Board, traffic was still better, as usually fewer vehicles move in that direction during that hour.”

In addition to this, multiple flooding points were observed along Hosur Main Road, especially at Veerasandra Junction, Central Silk Board, and Bommanahalli. Several commuters took to the X, a microblogging platform, to share images and videos of the flooded stretches and pointed out the failure of the civic body to clear such spots.

Friday evening showers

The situation was no better on Friday, as the evening showers left multiple places flooded across the city. At least 30 flooding points had been identified by the BTP on Friday by 7.30 p.m. Major among them were Kumar Krupa Road, Queens Junction, SJP Road, Nayandahalli Junction, Balagere Road, and Siddapura Road, besides Sarakki Signal.

Adding to the misery, two BMTC bus breakdowns, including one near Anand Rao Circle towards Subbanna Junction and another near Devanga Junction towards Mission Road, worsened the situation. At least 10 instances of tree branches snapping were also reported across the city.