Bengaluru Rains Turn IT Hubs Into Pools — MP Seeks WFH Mandate

Two days of persistent rain in India’s Information Technology hub, Bengaluru, have led to flooding in several parts of the city. Bengaluru received as much as 105 mm of rainfall on Monday, prompting the India Meteorological Department (IMD) to issue a yellow alert. The agency has also forecast adverse weather conditions for the next few days.

In light of the flooding, Bengaluru Central MP PC Mohan on May 19 urged companies to declare two days of work from home (WFH) due to the ongoing rains.

“All companies in Bengaluru, including Infosys, must declare two days of work from home due to rains,” Mohan wrote on X.

Following his call, only Cognizant Technology Solutions has mandated work from home for 20 May, Moneycontrol reported on Tuesday. The IT giant employs around 40,000 people in India’s tech capital.

The report noted that no other major company has formally offered remote work to its employees. However, companies like Infosys and L&T Technology Services already have a hybrid working policy in place.

IT Hubs Submerged

Photos and videos circulating online show commuters in Bengaluru struggling with waterlogged office entrances. At Manyata Tech Park, scores of employees were seen wading through knee-deep water at the entry points.

Reports say key neighbourhoods such as Koramangala, HSR Layout, BTM Layout, and Marathahalli bore the brunt of the downpour, with arterial roads and underpasses submerged.

More than 20 lakes are reportedly near overflow levels, underpasses are shut, flyovers were waterlogged, and public transport was severely affected. The city’s bus service was partially suspended due to flooded roads. Meanwhile, on May 20, Bengaluru traffic police closed a section of Hosur Road—between Silk Board and Rupena Agrahara—from 9 AM to 11 AM due to flooding. The 9.9 km-long elevated expressway from Central Silk Board Junction to Electronics City on Hosur Road is designed to reduce travel time to Electronics City, home to major companies such as Infosys and Biocon.

New Warning

The IMD has predicted light to moderate rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds reaching 40–50 km/h, with heavy rainfall likely over Kerala and Mahe, and Karnataka during the next seven days. Isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected over: Coastal Karnataka on May 22, 25, and 26; North Interior Karnataka on May 20 and 21; South Interior Karnataka on May 25 and 26 and Extremely heavy rainfall is likely in isolated areas over north Kerala on 20th May and over coastal and ghat regions of Karnataka on 20th and 21st May, as per the forecasted shared on May 20 by IMD.

“It rained yesterday. The rainfall was more than expected—104 mm was recorded. On 21st May, D.K. Shivakumar and I will tour the city with all the Bengaluru MLAs. Today, one person died due to a wall collapse. We will provide Rs 5 lakh as compensation to the family,” said Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

State BJP president B.Y. Vijayendra said, “The Siddaramaiah government has become so insensitive. When people in Bengaluru are severely affected by the rains over the past two days, the state government is busy celebrating its two-year anniversary. The CM and Deputy CM keep talking about ‘Greater Bengaluru’, but just talking won’t help. All contractor payments have stopped, and the work has come to a halt.”