Bengaluru East City Corporation is the richest among the five new civic bodies under the Greater Bengaluru Authority, and contributes the highest tax revenue. It covers the largest area —168 sq. km. — but has the smallest population of 13 lakh (1.3 million), resulting in the lowest population density among the new corporations, at 7,738 persons per sq. km.

But, the corporation includes one of Bengaluru’s most congested corridors — the 17.3 km stretch of Outer Ring Road (ORR) between K.R. Puram and Central Silk Board. The congestion stems from a large floating population and limited infrastructure.

About 500 tech companies operate along this stretch, with eight to 10 lakh employees using the ORR daily, putting it among the Top 5 most congested routes in Bengaluru. Originally designed to handle 4,800 Passenger Car Units (PCUs), the road now carries about 10,400 PCUs, more than double its intended capacity, according to ASTraM data reviewed by The Hindu. This overload has drastically increased travel time. A 10-km commute can take over an hour, sometimes nearly two.

Congestion on the stretch and the bad condition of the road has sometimes led to face-offs between tech honchos and the ruling dispensation. The most recent spat involved Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar, who also holds charge of the city, which began after a logistics company co-founder announced relocating out of the stretch.

What went wrong?

IT firms along the ORR witnessed unprecedented growth after 2002, when the corridor became fully operational. Each year brought an increase in the number of commuters using the stretch, placing additional strain on an already fragile infrastructure. Multiple choke points and the ripple effects of congestion further worsened traffic on the connecting roads.

Karthik Reddy, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic), pointed out that there are very few connecting roads to the ORR, and that m