A repeat of March 2023 and August 2022 scenarios; no proper outlets for water to flow to drains, complain commuters

Ramanagara: In a repeat of the harrowing experience faced by motorists on the Mysuru-Bengaluru Highway in March 2023 and August 2022, last evening’s rain once again caused severe flooding, blocking traffic for several hours.

The water remained stagnant at a couple of underbridges on the Highway, leading to many vehicles being stranded. Even after the rain eased, slow-moving traffic and prolonged jams persisted. These are the same underbridges that flooded last year when Ramanagara and the surrounding areas experienced unprecedented rains.

Heavy showers lashed many parts of south interior Karnataka, including Bengaluru, Ramanagara, Tumakuru and Chikkaballapur districts last evening disrupting normal life in the region.

The downpour caused significant traffic disruptions on the Mysuru-Bengaluru Highway, particularly on the outskirts of Ramanagara. The skies opened up at 6 pm and it poured for the next two hours, flooding underbridges and low-lying areas of the Highway.

The inundated road left vehicles stranded for hours until personnel from the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) managed to clear the road for traffic. According to regular commuters on the Highway, flooding has become a common occurrence during the monsoon due to unscientific road construction.

They complained that there are no proper outlets for the water to flow between the Highway and the drains built on the service road on either side. Every time it rains, the Highway gets inundated, causing traffic disruptions.

They pointed out that even after last year’s massive flooding a couple of times on the same stretches, corrective actions were not initiated by the NHAI which led to the problem this year too.