Bengaluru consistently ranks among the most congested cities in the world. According to the TomTom Traffic Index, commuters in the city spend an average of over 260 hours a year stuck in traffic, which is the highest in India. With a vehicle population crossing 1.2 crore and road infrastructure expanding at a fraction of that pace, daily life for residents has become an endurance test. That frustration came to a head this week, when a Bengaluru doctor took to social media to call out the crisis.
Bengaluru’s Doctor’s Post Brings City’s Traffic And Infrastructure Into Question
Dr Nandita Iyer’s post on X didn’t simply describe another bad day in traffic. It cracked open a raw and festering wound, one that Bengaluru’s residents have been nursing in silence for far too long concerning the crumbling infrastructure and never-ending traffic. After spending nearly three hours to cover a mere 15 kilometres via Varthur, the Bengaluru-based doctor and author turned her exasperation into a blistering commentary on what she called “total civic chaos” in India’s tech hub, currently struggling with high, never-ending traffic jams.
“Bengaluru has the highest road tax in India, and also the highest suffering on the road,” she wrote, capturing in one line what lakhs of city dwellers feel every day amidst traffic jams in the city. Her words, matter-of-fact and unsparing, gained immediate traction.
She listed what most Bengalureans have stopped noticing: giant potholes that seem to grow faster than trees and bottlenecks so routine that Google Maps now factors them in like clockwork while calculating distance amidst the city’s traffic. The woes of this city also include zero traffic policing where it’s most needed. “There are zero incentives here for being a law-abiding, tax-paying citizen,” she wrote.
Also Read: Bengaluru Traffic Police Suggest Mid-Week WFH And Staggered Work Timings To Ease ORR Congestion
The Post Raises Bigger Questions
Beneath the frustration with Bengaluru traffic and infrastructure lies a sharper indictment. “There is no accountability. Our taxes aren’t improving our lives; they’re just lining politicians’ pockets.” That sentence hit a nerve. Her post was soon echoed by citizens from across the country, and not just from Bengaluru.
A user from Pune wrote, “You’re not alone..same is Pune and many Indian cities.. we should have focused on building better roads and basic infrastructure before going for grander airports, skyscrapers and stadiums.” Another commented on the health toll, both mental and physical, that commuting in urban India now extracts; what should be a 30-minute drive regularly turns into a 2-hour test of endurance.
What Dr Iyer’s post ultimately tapped into is a far deeper disillusionment. This isn’t about a single traffic jam in the city of Bengaluru or a few potholes; it’s about living in a city that fuels the digital economy of an entire nation, while its own residents are stuck, quite literally, in the same place.
Cover Image Courtesy: chachastephane/CanvaPro and saffrontrail/X
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