Published Sep 18, 2026 | 4:22 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 18, 2026 | 4:22 PM
Entrepreneur and resident Ritish Reddy said children from Whitefield were spending more than two hours on Varthur Road for a 5-km commute.
Synopsis: An online petition seeking urgent road repairs and traffic management along Bengaluru’s Whitefield-Varthur-Gunjur corridor has received nearly 5,000 signatures after severe traffic gridlock on 17 September left school buses stranded for hours. Residents say damaged roads, construction activity and heavy vehicles are disrupting school commutes. The petition urges the Bengaluru Traffic Police, KRDCL and civic authorities to enforce heavy-vehicle restrictions, repair damaged roads and coordinate traffic and construction work during school hours.
An online petition seeking urgent road repairs and traffic management along the Whitefield-Varthur-Gunjur corridor in East Bengaluru, Karnataka, has garnered nearly 5,000 signatures a day after a severe traffic gridlock left several school buses along the busy 2-km-long stretch stranded for several hours.
Several schools were conducting mid-term examinations, forcing students to arrive late.
The petition, started by local residents, says damaged road conditions, daily congestion, construction activity and heavy vehicles are affecting children’s daily commute to school.
On Thursday, 17 September, videos posted by local residents on social media showed kilometres-long traffic jams along the corridor. Haricharan, a resident, said his daughter’s school bus took two hours to cover 2 km on the Varthur-Gunjur road.
“For those 2 hours, I sat there as a parent feeling completely helpless. I work hard. My wife and I pay lakhs in taxes every month. We took a huge home loan mainly so we could live close to our daughter’s school and give her a safer, easier childhood. And yet, this is what “2 km from school” means here,” he wrote in a post on X.
According to the Economic Times, the stretch has 18–20 large schools. Parents told the newspaper that some children reached examination halls anxious after their buses arrived late at pickup points and were then caught in traffic. Some schools gave affected students extra time to complete their examinations.
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Several residents of the neighbourhoods said traffic jams were a regular feature and called on authorities to urgently address the condition of the roads.
Entrepreneur and resident Ritish Reddy said children from Whitefield were spending more than two hours on Varthur Road for a 5-km commute.
“2+ hours. Every single day. That’s how long kids from Whitefield spend on Varthur Road for a 5km commute. My own daughter is stuck right now as I post this. Whitefield deserves better than this. Over 2500+ parents have signed the representation for better roads for our children,” he wrote.
In a joint representation addressed to the Bengaluru Traffic Police, KRDCL and the Bengaluru East City Corporation/BBMP, the Parents and Residents of the Varthur-Gunjur-Whitefield Corridor have urged the agencies to act together to address the problems.
They have asked the Traffic Police to clarify and enforce existing restrictions on heavy goods vehicles and construction vehicles on the Varthur-Gunjur section of SH-35, particularly between 7 am and 9 am and 2.30 pm and 5 pm. They have also sought action on the movement of construction trucks, water tankers and other heavy vehicles during these hours.
The representation calls for immediate repairs to potholes, damaged and uneven road surfaces, drainage-related damage and other obstructions affecting school buses.
It also asks KRDCL, the Traffic Police and the civic authorities to coordinate construction activity on the corridor, including diversions, barricading and movement of construction material, so that these do not add to congestion during school arrival and dispersal hours.
The parents have sought a joint inspection by the three agencies, along with representatives of affected schools and parent groups, to identify bottlenecks and decide on measures that can be implemented while the SH-35 works continue.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
