Chaos in Bengal Metro forces commuters onto trucks; Tejasvi Surya says, 'They pay taxes and suffer again'

A major disruption on Bengaluru’s Namma Metro Purple Line sparked a political debate on Tuesday evening, with Bangalore South MP Tejasvi Surya criticizing the Congress-led Karnataka dispensation over the state of the IT capital’s infrastructure.

Surya on Wednesday shared a widely circulated video on X that showed stranded commuters, including IT employees, climbing on the back of an open truck in an attempt to reach home after metro services were suddenly halted.

“First World Tech Talent. Third World Management”

Reacting to the scenes, Surya wrote, “First world tech talent. Third world governance. That’s the story of Bengaluru.”

The BJP MP claimed that the incident reflected growing frustration among residents who depend on the metro to avoid major traffic jams in the city.

Noting that metro service disruptions were becoming more frequent, he warned that the impact was felt across Bengaluru whenever the network went down.

“Metro blackouts are alarmingly frequent. And every time a metro fails, the entire city descends into chaos. Taxis disappear. Cars refuse to run. Citizens are stranded,” Surya said.

He highlighted the difficulties facing working professionals, adding: “Tomorrow they will wake up, go back to office, pay taxes and endure the same broken system again.”

PC Mohan requires action

Bangalore Central MP PC Mohan also criticized the repeated service failures and called on the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) to address the underlying issues.

In a post on X, Mohan said, “Repeated disruptions on Bengaluru Metro’s Purple Line are unacceptable. A city that depends on the metro for daily commute cannot tolerate repeated technical breakdowns. BMRCL must review maintenance standards and fix system failures without delay.”

A technical fault disrupts the evening commute

The outage began at around 6.30pm on Tuesday when a tube train experienced a major technical problem at Cubbon Park underground station.

Following the incident, BMRCL suspended operations on the key underground stretch between MG Road and Magadi Road. Limited services continued on both sides of the affected section, with trains operating between MG Road and Whitefield and between Magadi Road and Challaghatta.

The sudden disruption of services left commuters stranded, leading to massive crowds at several stations, especially MG Road. As large numbers of people were forced to leave the metro, Bengaluru’s transport system came under severe pressure, with taxi services increasing fares while autorickshaw drivers refused journeys or demanded higher fares.