‘Can’t be the new normal’: Bengaluru schoolgirls’ viral video lays bare city’s potholed roads. Watch

Every afternoon, what should be a 20-minute ride home turns into a two-hour ordeal for three Bengaluru schoolgirls. Wedged into the back seat of a crowded school bus, Nadia, Anya and Meher filmed their bumpy commute — a shaky reel that has since gone viral, striking a chord with thousands of Bengalureans who face the same grind every day. Their message was simple but powerful: this can’t be the new normal.

In the now-viral reel, Nadia, Anya, and Meher are seen struggling to remain seated in a school bus seat while recording their shaky ride home. The trio reveal that while it takes just 20 minutes to cover the 14 km to school in the morning, the return journey often stretches to nearly two hours because of massive traffic snarls. The bad road conditions are evident in the jolting clip, and the girls reveal that they have also been injured sometimes. “This can’t be the new normal,” they say, urging authorities to act.

The video surfaced barely a day after a frightening incident on the Panathur-Balagere stretch, where a school bus carrying 20 children tilted dangerously when the crater-ridden, rain-washed road caved in. The students escaped unhurt after being safely evacuated, but the incident underlined the dire state of Bengaluru’s road infrastructure.

The Panathur stretch, located near Ekya School, has long been a nightmare for commuters and is now being described by locals as a “death trap.” With monsoon rains worsening potholes across the city, concerns over road safety and traffic management have only deepened.

Poor condition of Bengaluru roads

Once hailed as India’s Silicon Valley and the tech hub that powers global IT giants, Bengaluru today struggles with civic infrastructure that lags far behind its rapid urban growth. Poorly maintained roads, inadequate drainage, pothole-ridden stretches, and endless traffic snarls have become daily realities for millions of residents.

Despite being home to some of the world’s biggest tech companies and startups, the city’s basic infrastructure — from roads to public transport — remains under severe strain, raising questions about governance, planning, and the sustainability of Bengaluru’s urban expansion.