Bengaluru had witnessed an unusual calm on its streets during the ongoing festive season, prompting actor Ashish Vidyarthi to jokingly remark that the city’s traffic had been “stolen.” With people having left the city to celebrate festivities elsewhere, the usually chaotic roads of the IT hub resembled a throwback to the early 2000s, empty and peaceful.
Vidyarthi jokingly expressed his astonishment at the unusually smooth commute. “The traffic has been stolen. There is no traffic on the streets of Bengaluru,” he said in a video shared on his Instagram account. The actor and influencer with 200 million followers highlighted his personal experience, noting that he reached the airport from Indiranagar in just 25 minutes, a journey that would normally take over an hour during peak hours. “Please look into this. Where is the traffic?” he asked humorously, addressing authorities.
“There is no traffic on the streets of Bengaluru. Kal bhi nahi tha, aaj bhi nahi tha. Aaj, matlab, hum log 25 minute me pahunj gaye hain (It wasn’t there yesterday, and it isn’t there today either. Today, we reached in just 25 minutes),” he further said.
The actor, who was traveling to Kochi for a stand-up performance, emphasized the contrast with the usual congestion. “Please, don’t go back to the old times when Bengaluru had no traffic. The world is moving forward,” he quipped, adding a lighthearted note to the otherwise typical city commute woes.
Residents and commuters in Bengaluru also reported noticeably lighter traffic on major thoroughfares, including MG Road, Indiranagar, and Outer Ring Road, as many families traveled out of the city for the festive period. With fewer vehicles on the road, honking was minimal, air quality improved slightly, and the city experienced a rare sense of tranquility.
While Vidyarthi’s humorous comments brought a smile, the city may soon return to its usual gridlock once the festive exodus ends, reminding commuters that Bengaluru’s “stolen traffic” is likely a temporary phenomenon.