Bengaluru's holiday rush turns into traffic nightmare, people stuck in cars, buses past 12 am

Bengaluru's Dasara holiday rush triggered massive traffic jams, prompting frustrated commuters to share their ordeal on social media.

Bengaluru commuters heading to their hometowns for the Dasara festivities faced severe traffic congestion on Friday evening, with some spending five to six hours on the road just trying to leave the city. Heavy rain added to the chaos, bringing traffic to a standstill on several major roads and leaving passengers stranded well past midnight.

Bengaluru witnessed severe traffic congestion during the Dasara rush, sparking widespread frustration on social media. (Representational image generated using AI)

Buses operated by the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and private operators were also caught in the gridlock, with several passengers facing hours-long delays. As the congestion stretched into the early hours of Saturday, frustrated commuters took to social media to share their experiences.

Commuters share traffic nightmare on social media

An Instagram user named Ashanth, a techie by profession, shared a video from a bus caught in the traffic jam.

"Started around 7.05 pm at Bellandur. Now it’s 12.15 am- the next day but still in Attibelle. Even the next day is closer than my hometown right now. Took me 5 hours to see Bengaluru border," the text overlaid on the video read.

Take a look here at his post:

An X user also described the situation, writing, "Record traffic jam in Bengaluru during Dasara: Travellers stuck for around 6 hours on Mysore, Tumkur and Airport roads. Some were stuck until 3–4 am. Rain worsened the situation. Bengaluru cannot take it anymore. Hope people choose smart cities like Surat, Ahmedabad, Gurgaon, etc."

Meanwhile, a Reddit user complained about congestion around Majestic in a separate post.

"It’s been more than an hour since I left Majestic, and I’m still stuck within a 2 km radius," the user wrote, adding that their BMTC bus was trying alternative routes towards Hebbal without success.

Check out the posts shared by commuters on social media here:

What caused the massive traffic congestion?

According to a Times of India report, Tumakuru Road was among the worst-affected stretches.

A KSRTC conductor operating on the Bengaluru-Mangaluru route said, “Our bus left Majestic almost on schedule. However, it took us more than 3.5 hours to travel from Navarang theatre to Goraguntepalya as traffic came to a standstill. At Govardhan theatre, four of our passengers were waiting for hours for the pick-up. They were exhausted and kept calling repeatedly, worried they would miss the bus.”

A traffic police officer told the publication that 800–900 buses normally use the Yeshwantpur-Goraguntepalya stretch during weekends, but the number exceeds 2,500 during festivals and long weekends.

"Traffic eased only around 2.30 am," the officer said, citing rainfall, heavy traffic and inadequate bus bays as major contributors to the congestion.