Heavy rainfall caused waterlogging on the recently inaugurated Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway on Saturday, March 18, raising concerns about the quality of the 119-kilometre-long road. Visuals of the flooding went viral on social media platforms with citizens criticising the government for shoddy work. The expressway was inaugurated just six days earlier on March 12, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as part of the Bengaluru-Nidaghatta-Mysuru section of NH-275.
The Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway, which cost Rs 8,480 crore, aims to reduce travel time between Bengaluru and Mysuru to just 75 minutes, compared to the three hours it previously took. However, this is the third time the expressway has experienced waterlogging. Last August, heavy rainfall caused flooding when the expressway was still under construction, and it was flooded again in October.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) began collecting toll on the expressway on March 14, which led to protests from political parties for collecting it without the completion of work. The Congress party had also raised concerns about the expressway's inauguration without adequate flood control measures, especially when the road work was still incomplete.
First summer showers of the season has exposed quality & planning of Bengaluru - Mysuru expressway. Water logging reported at multiple places. Last year the highway had seen massive flooding when it was being constructed, NHAI had promised to fix it. #BengaluruMysuruExpressway pic.twitter.com/2uuscSCtCh
— Harish Upadhya (@harishupadhya) March 18, 2023
Light summer showers have exposed the quality of the #BengaluruMysuruExpressway. Light rains on Friday night have resulted in the flooding of parts of the expressway. Visuals from #Ramanagara. #News9SouthDesk #Karnataka pic.twitter.com/s4cZy4rGHD
— Prajwal D'Souza (@prajwaldza) March 18, 2023
Days after its Inauguration by @narendramodi the planning of the #BengaluruMysuruExpressway stands exposed. Waterlogging reported at Multiple places near Ramnagara after a small spell of rain leading to accidents at the expressway. pic.twitter.com/MnuawPlJXx
— Akshara D M (@Aksharadm6) March 18, 2023