Bengaluru’s infamous traffic woes are making headlines again after a Reddit post detailed the harrowing experience of a man who got stuck for over 1.5 hours while taking his eight-months-pregnant wife for a routine check-up. A frustrated user, writing under the handle r/bangalore, shared that it took him 1.5 hours to cover the “miserable” 7 km stretch on the HAL road near Varthur on Friday. He expressed concern about severe traffic congestion, saying he was terrified of “what would happen if his pregnant wife gave birth” during the crisis?
“What if it was a real emergency?”
Detailing the ordeal, the user wrote: “The picture says it all. 1.5 hours to cover a harrowing 7 km on HAL Road near Varthur tonight. I was taking my 8 months pregnant wife for a routine check-up and all the while I was gripped by a terrifying thought: What if it was a real emergency? What if she gave birth right now? The terrible helplessness. box, I watch the clock ticking by For this we pay insane road taxes for the privilege. I truly believe this city is doomed. The infrastructure has completely collapsed and there seems to be no way out. What a nightmare.”
The post, which has since gone viral, was shared with the caption, “1.5 hours, 7 km and 8 months pregnant wife. Is Bangalore still livable?”
The Internet reacts to the post
The Reddit post sparked a flood of comments from users who shared similar frustrations.
One user commented: “Brother, I think you should move to a nearby hospital temporarily because it might be an emergency.”
Another wrote: “Ambulances have to go two ways in similar traffic.”
A third asked, “What’s your plan B in the event of an emergency?”
One other user shared a personal experience:
“It happened to me yesterday. I left the office at 6:00pm in a taxi. Around 6:30pm my wife called and said she wasn’t feeling well. Sitting helpless in traffic, unable to do anything, every minute felt like a year. Luckily, friends took her to a nearby doctor. It took me another two and a half hours to finally get home. When I finally realized that someone needed help and a carefree ride home. get there in time because of the traffic.’
“Bengaluru traffic is a global challenge”: DK Shivakumar
Amid growing public outrage, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar recently said traffic congestion is a “global and national challenge”, citing London and Delhi as examples.
He claimed that the traffic problem in Bengaluru is getting more attention due to the vibrancy of traditional and social media in the state. Speaking at a panel discussion on ‘GBA: Transformative Vision for Bengaluru’ organized by B.PAC and Mount Carmel College, Shivakumar said he has “moved heaven and earth” to fix issues like garbage management, which he says are affected by the “big garbage mafia”.
“Even in London, people have to travel for three hours if they don’t take public transport. Even in Delhi, it takes 1.5 hours to reach Parliament from the airport. But Bengaluru makes more noise than Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad,” he said, according to PTI.
He further added that Karnataka’s open media environment allows for free criticism, unlike some other states, and assured that the government is working to solve the city’s traffic problems.
