The view of 119 km Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway.
| Photo Credit: Murali Kumar K
Moderate showers on March 17 evening led to waterlogging on the newly opened Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway just days after it was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The expressway witnessed waterlogging on March 18 morning leading to traffic snarls near Sangabasavana Doddi between Ramanagara and Bidadi, according to traffic police officials.
Meanwhile, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) officials claimed that mud put up by a few villagers had blocked the drain. NHAI project director B. T. Sridhar said, “We have built drains along the stretch to flow the rainwater. However, a few villagers had blocked the drain by putting mud, which led to waterlogging on roads. We have immediately started work to clean the mud and remove the blockage in drains.”
This is not the first time the expressway was flooded. Earlier, in August 2022, various stretches on the expressway were flooded where vehicles were submerged and stuck for hours. Again in October, after rain, parts of the Bengaluru–Mysuru expressway were flooded.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 12 inaugurated the 118 km-long ten-lane expressway between Bengaluru and Mysuru. The Expressway reduces the travel time between Bengaluru and Mysuru from three hours to about 75 minutes.
The access-controlled Expressway between Bengaluru and Mysuru built at a cost of ₹8,480 crore encompasses a portion of National Highway 275 comprising four rail overbridges, nine significant bridges, 40 minor bridges, and 89 underpasses and overpasses.
Meanwhile, parts of Bengaluru city received moderate showers on March 17 evening leading to tree branches falling in various areas of the city. According to Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) control room tree branches falling after rain was reported in Indiranagar, Muddayyana Palya and Rajajinagar, while traffic snarls were also reported in K.R. Puram, Whitefield, Varthur, Kadugodi, Marathahalli, Hoodi, and other areas in East Bengaluru.