Karnataka capital Bengaluru saw massive traffic snarls on Wednesday as residents headed out of the city for the long weekend ahead of Eid Milad today, a state-wide bandh on Friday and Gandhi Jayanti on Monday. That coupled with comedian Trevor Noah's first show in the city, heavy rain in some areas and Lord Ganesha idol immersion processions brought vehicular movement to a crawl.
The traffic holdup resulted in a four-hour wait for many, with traffic police advising IT employees to leave their offices post 8pm. (Karnataka Weather/X)
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Several commuters took to social media site X to recount the ordeal and share visuals, with a user writing that it took him six hours to travel from RMZ Eco World Road to Kathriguppe, which under usual conditions would take up to an hour.
“HSR layout flyover towards Sarjapura and Bellandur at 8:15pm. I experienced one of the worst days of my life in Blr traffic. Left Eco world at 3:45pm and reached Kathriguppe at 9:15pm. Traffic horror in Bengaluru,” he wrote.
Bengaluru Central MP PC Mohan also posted, “Bengaluru's tech hub, ORR, faced an unprecedented traffic jam, trapping techies, office-goers, and school buses for almost 4 hours. The Baiyappanahalli-KR Pura metro link, could have eased this, but the State Govt's inaction, despite CMRS approval, prolongs the suffering.”
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Here are a few visuals of the unprecedented congestion:
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Here are a few visuals of the unprecedented congestion:
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Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya also addressed the traffic snarl and hit out at the delayed launch of the KR Pura-Baiyappanahalli metro line, saying that the stretch between Hoodi to Baiyappanahalli should normally take less than 10 minutes in the Metro.
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Trevor Noah's comedy show cancelled
Comedian Trevor Noah on Wednesday cancelled both his shows in Bengaluru after facing technical snags, disappointing eager fans. He posted an apology online and said all ticket holders will receive a full refund.
“Trevor Noah got stuck in Bengaluru Traffic & reached his own show late. People stuck in ORR traffic for 2-3 hours unable to move, sold their tickets on IG/X. Some reached & Trevor cancelled the show cause of bad acoustics. He's probably already writing jokes on BLR's traffic,” another internet user shared.
Yamini CS is a Senior Content Producer at Hindustan Times with nearly six years of experience in digital journalism. She is part of the India News desk, where she works on a wide range of stories cutting across civic issues, city-based developments, politics, governance, public policy, breaking news, trending topics, and international affairs that have an impact on India. Her role involves tracking fast-moving developments, verifying information from official and on-ground sources, and presenting news in a clear, accessible format for a digital-first audience. A significant part of her work includes handling live blogs during major news events, such as elections, court verdicts, political developments, civic disruptions, protests, weather-related alerts, and unfolding national or international incidents. Through live coverage, she focuses on timely updates to help readers follow complex stories as they evolve. Before moving to the broader India News desk, Yamini was associated with the Bengaluru desk at Hindustan Times, where she extensively covered urban governance, infrastructure, traffic and transport issues, weather events, public grievances, and civic administration in the city. This experience strengthened her grounding in city reporting and sharpened her focus on citizen-centric journalism. She began her career as a correspondent with Reuters after completing a postgraduate diploma in journalism from the Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media. Her early training instilled a strong emphasis on accuracy, sourcing, and news ethics, which continue to shape her reporting style. Outside of work, Yamini enjoys reading across genres, listening to music, and spending time with her family, which help her maintain balance in a fast-paced newsroom environment.
Get the latest City News, local updates, weather alerts and breaking stories from Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and other major cities across India on Hindustan Times.
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Home/Cities/Bengaluru News/Bengaluru traffic holdup on ORR: Commuters stuck for hours ahead of long weekend
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