'What a nightmare': Bengaluru man, 8-month pregnant wife stuck in 7 km-long traffic jam for 1.5 hrs

A Bengaluru resident recently took to Reddit to share his experience of navigating HAL Road near Varthur on Monday evening. He said that what should have been a short drive turned into a 1.5-hour ordeal to cover just 7 km. He added that he took his 8-month pregnant wife for a routine checkup, but the extreme traffic congestion left him gripped with fear and anxiety.

The resident recounted the helplessness of being trapped in the gridlock, describing the feeling of being “just a sitting duck, trapped in a metal box,” with every passing minute intensifying his worry.

He wrote, “What if this was a real emergency? What if she was in labour right now? The sheer helplessness is suffocating. You're just sitting there, watching the clock tick by, powerless to do anything. We pay insane road taxes for this privilege, yet the infrastructure is failing us. I genuinely believe this city is doomed. The roads are crumbling, traffic is completely unmanageable, and it feels like there’s no way out. What a nightmare...”

The post quickly went viral, resonating with Bengaluru residents, many of whom shared similar experiences of being trapped in the city’s worsening traffic.

One user advised, “Bro, I think you should temporarily shift to a nearby hospital because this could have been an emergency. Or at least rent a place close to the hospital, maybe a hotel or Airbnb.”

A second user commented: "Bro move out of bangalore if possible for next 1 month till you have your baby atleast, this city is truly not livable any more I seriously sometimes pity the people living in the IT corridor specially, what a dystopian world they are living in."

Another recounted their own ordeal, “I can understand! My mum and sis met with an accident and I had to rush to visit them in the hospital. I was stuck in that U-turn near Bellandur. Longest 45 minutes of my life. Regretted going to Bellandur office that day!”

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar announced on Thursday that the state Cabinet has approved the 117-km Peripheral Ring Road project, now renamed the Bengaluru Business Corridor. The project, expected to be completed within two years, is projected to reduce traffic congestion in Bengaluru by nearly 40 percent.

The corridor will connect Tumakuru Road to Mysuru Road, passing through Yelahanka and Electronic City. Of the total stretch, 73 km will cover North Bengaluru, while the remaining portion will serve the southern part of the city. The government plans to raise ₹27,000 crore through HUDCO to fund the project.