Bengaluru is under an alert due to the pre-monsoon wreaking havoc across the city which is famed as IT corridor is once again turning to work-from-home (WFH) as a temporary but necessary measure due to heavy rains. With waterlogged roads, blocked flyovers, and hours-long traffic snarls paralyzing mobility across major tech zones like Electronic City, Outer Ring Road, and Whitefield, companies are left with little choice but to prioritise employee safety and operational continuity. While the IT sector's rapid shift to work-from-home demonstrates its flexibility and resilience, it also exposes the vulnerabilities in Bengaluru’s urban planning and crisis preparedness. Weather-triggered disruptions are becoming more frequent, and unless addressed structurally, remote work may cease to be a strategic advantage and instead become a default survival strategy.For now, WFH offers a temporary reprieve. But in the long run, governments, urban planners, and corporate leaders must work collaboratively to ensure that India’s Silicon Valley doesn't drown under its own weight—quite literally.

In a city known as India’s Silicon Valley, where infrastructure is perpetually strained by rapid urban expansion, the current deluge has brought daily operations to a standstill. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert for Bengaluru and a red alert for Karnataka, predicting continued heavy rainfall and thunderstorms through May 26.

This weather pattern, combined with Bengaluru’s notoriously inadequate drainage systems, has left vast swathes of the city waterlogged, rendering commutes both unsafe and impractical. Outer Ring Road, home to dozens of multinational IT and tech firms, was among the worst affected, leading many employers to reissue remote work advisories.

Most major IT firms, including Infosys, TCS, Wipro, Accenture, and Cognizant, quickly responded by asking employees to work from home for at least two days, citing both safety concerns and productivity losses due to commuting delays. Notably, Electronic City, a key IT hub, saw temporary road closures, including on the elevated expressway, stranding thousands of tech workers.This sudden pivot to WFH is reminiscent of the early COVID-19 days, but with a different driver—infrastructure failure rather than public health.

Employees took to social media to express their frustration. One user, Reshma Nair, posted:“Left Electronic City at 8 AM as flyovers were blocked. Got stuck near Kudlu Gate—buses not moving. 7 km in 2+ hours. Elderly people, office-goers, all stranded. This isn’t the Bengaluru we knew.” Such sentiments underscore a growing concern: while remote work offers relief, Bengaluru’s inability to cope with seasonal weather is becoming a recurring liability for its workforce and companies alike.For IT firms, which often handle critical backend operations for global clients, maintaining continuity is non-negotiable. Having robust WFH infrastructure, such as secure VPNs, cloud-based project management tools, and collaborative platforms, has made this switch relatively smooth for most firms. However, the current events also raise longer-term strategic questions for the sector: Should tech firms invest more in decentralized hubs across smaller cities to reduce dependence on Bengaluru? Can there be a private-public partnership to improve urban infrastructure around major corporate zones? Is remote-first employment becoming more than just a contingency plan?

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