A view of slow-moving traffic on Mysuru Road in Bengaluru on Saturday.
| Photo Credit: SUDHAKARA JAIN
Roads in Bengaluru were chock-a-block on Saturday evening as the Chief Minister’s city rounds, weekend crowds, and festival shoppers led to a gridlock at several key junctions.
The Central Business District (CBD) and shopping hubs in the city centre were the worst affected, as traffic crawled along stretches such as M.G. Road, Brigade Road, Residency Road, Avenue Road, SP Road, and B.V.K. Iyengar Road.
The importance of J.C. Road was evident on Saturday when its connecting and ancillary stretches were choked with traffic following the partial closure of the road. J.C. Road serves as a critical link not just for southern Bengaluru and the city centre, but also for vehicles from west Bengaluru looking to avoid traffic on K.R. Market Road.
Hours-long traffic jam
Meenakshi S., a resident of Banashankari, regretted taking the K.R. Market Road, as it took her nearly two hours to cover a 9-km stretch to Infantry Road in the heart of the city. “The K.R. Market stretch was particularly bad, with a mix of shoppers and outstation travellers flooding it. I spent at least 30 minutes crossing just this one stretch,” she said.
A senior police officer from the East Division, Traffic, told The Hindu that weekend congestion was worsened by bus diversions put in place to facilitate white-topping work on J.C. Road. “We diverted buses that usually take J.C. Road to multiple other roads, which became badly clogged on Saturday as many festival shoppers were on the streets,” the officer said.
It was not just K.R. Market Road. The diversions caused severe congestion in Shanthinagar, choking Kengal Hanumanthaiah Road, with ripple effects spilling over to Mission Road and K.S. Thimmaiah Road.
Devendra Kumar, a Shanthinagar resident, lamented being stuck on Residency Road for nearly 30 minutes. “Usually, it takes just 10 minutes to reach Cubbon Park from Residency Road, but on Saturday afternoon I was stuck in traffic for 30 minutes. The roads were completely jammed, with vehicles barely moving, this turned into a frustrating wait, testing everyone’s patience,” he said.
In the eastern part of the city, Mysuru Road near Kengeri saw heavy crowds at the bus station. This, combined with cars leaving Bengaluru for the long weekend, led to major bottlenecks.
Soudhamini N., a professor at a private college who was heading home to Mysuru, said she was stuck in Kengeri for about an hour.
A police officer posted at the CBD said weekend crowds had further worsened traffic in the area. Long queues of vehicles were seen along M.G. Road, Brigade Road, Church Street, Central Street, Kamaraj Road, Mayo Hall junction, and Halasuru Road.
In north Bengaluru, Ballari Road and the infamous Hebbal Junction witnessed severe congestion. In east Bengaluru, Old Madras Road, particularly from Benniganahalli Lake to K.R. Puram Bus Stop, saw the worst traffic snarls, further compounded by the Chief Minister’s city rounds.
Published – September 27, 2025 09:57 pm IST
