A Bengaluru-based tech entrepreneur's account of spending 90 minutes travelling just three kilometres has sparked discussion on the city's worsening traffic and road conditions.
Souveek Ray, who has lived in Bengaluru for 10 years, shared an Instagram video titled "The hidden cost of building a business in India, especially Bangalore". He said he and his team had planned a 10 to 20-minute trip to a store in Varthur to drop off products and return.
Instead, they spent about 1.5 hours trying to cover the three-kilometre stretch. Frustrated by the traffic, Ray said they eventually left their car at the store and walked home.
"As founders, we deal with a lot of things, but this is something no one prepares you for," Ray said, describing the traffic as "unbelievable". He also criticised the condition of the road and questioned how businesses could operate under such circumstances.
Ray said the problem affects more than business owners, pointing to delivery workers, retailers, employees and customers who have to navigate the city's traffic every day. He urged Bengaluru's politicians to improve the city's infrastructure and said people remained willing to build businesses there despite the challenges.
The video drew responses from residents and former residents who shared similar experiences.
One user said it had become difficult to even step outside, while another claimed it took 3.5 hours to travel 10 km. A former resident said they had left Bengaluru after 15 years because of the daily commute, despite appreciating the city's weather.
Another user who said they had experienced the same traffic jam attributed it to vehicles piling into the opposite lane, bottlenecks, and poor lane discipline.