A short trip in Bengaluru’s Varthur turned into a 90-minute struggle for a city-based founder, who took to Instagram to highlight the traffic and poor road conditions in the area. Souveek Ray shared a video of his experience and questioned how businesses, employees and delivery workers are expected to function when people spend so much time on the road.
Ray said he and his team had planned to visit a store, drop off a few products and return home. What was expected to be a 10-20-minute task, however, took about 1.5 hours. The distance was only about three kilometres.
In the video, Ray showed the traffic on his phone and said they had managed to cover only one kilometre in 45 minutes. The journey became so difficult that they eventually decided to leave their car at the store and walk back home.
Ray also pointed towards the condition of the roads and said there was barely anything that looked like a proper road in parts of the stretch. He then raised concerns about the larger impact of Bengaluru’s traffic problems on daily life and businesses.
“How are businesses supposed to operate like this?” he asked, also questioning how delivery partners, retailers, employees, and customers could cope with such conditions every day.
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‘I Love Bangalore’
Ray later clarified that his comments were not an attack on Bengaluru. He said he had been living in the city for around 10 years and had chosen to build his business there because he loved the city.
“Before anyone starts complaining and saying we should leave Bangalore and go back to where we come from, let me tell you, I’ve been here for the last 10 years. I love Bangalore, and that is why I’m building here,” he said.
The video struck a chord with social media users, with several people saying they could relate to the frustration of spending long hours in traffic. Some also pointed out that long commutes are not only a traffic problem but can affect productivity and businesses as well.