Dasara festival travellers returning to their hometowns on Friday night suffered a frustrating journey as traffic jams caused things to creep along slowly on a number of major roads in Bengaluru.
The city’s residents and tourists who were going out on the holiday road in the last five days of the year were stranded for nearly six hours; the city's roads were virtually empty, there was traffic on very few streets, and cars were stuck for kilometres on the roads. Mysuru Road, Tumakuru Road, and Airport Road were among the roads that were worst affected by the traffic mess.
The situation was bad for commuters who were tired and concerned about traffic management at one of the busiest times of year, when the holiday season is busiest. With a lot of people leaving Bengaluru at the same time, cars had difficulty in getting through the congested roads.
Most private buses could only leave Bengaluru between 3 am and 4 am on Saturday, the affected travellers said. Passengers who had expected to reach their destinations earlier were stuck in buses for hours, many not knowing when they would arrive and what time they would be back.
Mysuru Road is a major route connecting Bengaluru and Mysuru and other parts of southern Karnataka in particular, with a lot of holiday traffic coming in. Tumakuru Road, another important route for people going to northern and central Karnataka, was also very bad.
Airport Road was also affected by people coming to Kempegowda International Airport and other cities along the line of travel. Cars were bumper-to-bumper for many hours, and vehicles had no room to cross. A large number of private buses, cars, taxis, and all other vehicles were in the way, and this made people feel the pain of travelling.
Light, persistent rain made a trip more difficult to make. Some families with kids and elderly relatives were among those affected by the extended delays. Passengers who were travelling with children and elderly relatives were among those who were experiencing a longer wait, with families having to wait far longer than expected.
The passengers who carried food, water, and other essentials for their journey had to wait much longer than anticipated to be able to get home for the festival. The long delay turned a routine trip home for the festival into a gruelling overnight journey, and some people who should have been done much sooner found themselves delayed.
The travellers were left angry that the arrangements were not adequate for the additional traffic generated by the Dasara holiday rush. Festival holidays typically create a surge in travel demand as people leave Bengaluru for family members’ destinations and celebrate their traditions.
The reported delays have raised new questions about whether sufficient planning, traffic regulation, and coordination are in place to cope with such predictable seasonal surges. As a city with such significant festival traffic, coordination among traffic police, transport operators, and road authorities is necessary. Bus movement control, preventing roadside parking from blocking traffic, junction management, and communication to commuters can help reduce travel delays in this city.
Better communication about congestion-prone routes and alternative travel options may also help passengers plan their trips more effectively. However, we did not have specific reasons for the reported traffic jam, such as roadworks, vehicle breakdowns, or bottlenecks; we did not have any specific information about the causes of this traffic jam.
The situation highlighted the hurdles that Bengaluru faces when large numbers of people travel out of the city during festivals. People depend on private buses, cars, and public transport to reach their destinations, and even a short disruption on major arterial roads can cause long lines and significant delays. For traffic authorities, the episode is an example of the necessity for pre-planning and real-time traffic management. As holiday travel continues, commuters will want better traffic conditions and coordination to avoid a repeat of the congestion.
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