Auto drivers battle flooded roads and mounting repair costs

Bengaluru: Waterlogged roads have become the new normal in Bengaluru, with every spell of rain turning into a night mare for commuters. Among the worst affect ed are auto-rickshaw drivers, whose livelihoods are directly at risk each time they are forced to navigate through flooded stretches.

Autos often stall mid road when water seeps into their engines, leaving drivers stranded in waist deep water. Many end up pushing their vehicles through flooded streets before spending heavily on repairs. “We have no other choice – this is our livelihood. Yet we face so many obstacles just because of inadequate roads,” said Hanumanth, an auto driver, speaking to News Trail.

For many drivers, every ride in the rain feels like a gamble. “It has become a skill to get through flooded roads. Many times, your auto just shuts down. In stead of checking what happened, cars honk, and police shout at us to move. If it were an expensive car, people would help push it – but not us,” lamented Naveen, another driver.

Beyond the daily struggle, drivers feel neglected by both society and the government. “I don’t own my house or even my auto. I rent it, and the little I earn goes back into fuel and repairs. Even my uniform stinks from working day and night, but still, we are criticised and never helped,” Naveen added.

Auto drivers argue that schemes and relief measures rarely reach them, leaving them to shoulder repair costs and income losses alone, while living with the fear that their families will be left helpless if something happens to them. “We are looked down upon so much, yet we work hard, risking our lives just to earn our bread.

Fixing the roads is the bare minimum the government can do,” said another driver. What should be ordinary monsoon showers instead turn into an expensive and dangerous ordeal, exposing both the fragile state of the city’s infrastructure and the vulnerability of those who depend on it to survive.