Does Varthur Have A Water Problem?History of Varthur Road
Varthur Road is a key road, also known as SH-35, that connects the top area of Varthur in East Bangalore. Its history shows how Bangalore changed from a Garden City to a global IT hub.
Earlier, Varthur Road was a quiet road. It connected small farming villages and the old Varthur Lake. The lake was built centuries ago by the Ganga kings for farming needs. For many years, this road mainly helped local people travel to nearby places like Marathahalli and the growing Whitefield area.
But things changed during Bangalore’s IT boom in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Varthur Road became part of the city’s fast growth. Today, it is a busy road with apartments, shops, offices, and big IT parks on both sides.
Varthur Lake is a very old and important part of this area. It was built by the Ganga kings thousands of years ago. This big man-made lake covers around 180.40 hectares (445.8 acres). In the olden days, people used this lake for farming and household water needs. This shows that Varthur was a farming village a long time ago. The Dakshina Pinakini river also flows through Varthur.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Varthur was still a small rural area with villages near the lake. In 1981, the population of Varthur was only 5,431 people. Around this time, Bangalore’s IT industry started growing slowly. This growth pushed development towards Varthur and nearby areas. Whitefield, which is close to Varthur, also started becoming an IT hub. Varthur Road became important because it connected these areas to Bangalore city.
When the IT sector grew fast in places like Whitefield, Marathahalli, and Outer Ring Road (ORR), Varthur Road became a key road for people travelling to offices. Many IT workers wanted homes near their workplaces, so housing demand in Varthur increased. In 2007, Varthur officially became part of the BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike). This changed Varthur from a rural area to a part of urban Bangalore. People thought the area would get better roads and services after this. In 2008, Varthur was divided into three new Assembly areas — C.V. Raman Nagar, Mahadevapura, and Krishnarajapura — because the population was growing fast.
The Varthur-Gunjur Main Road (SH-35) became an important road between Whitefield and Sarjapur. But the road was too narrow, so it became a traffic problem. Between 2010 and 2015, people living there protested because heavy trucks were using the road during busy hours.
After this, some restrictions were put in place. Many IT professionals and their families started moving into Varthur. Because of this, the demand for homes, schools, and hospitals increased. This fast growth also caused problems with roads, water, and electricity. Varthur Lake became very polluted as it received nearly 40% of Bangalore’s sewage for many years. The lake became dirty, started frothing, and became an environmental issue.
By July 2025, the work to widen Varthur-Gunjur Main Road from 30 meters to 100 meters over a 1.9 km stretch is still not finished. The work is delayed because of land problems. The new deadline is July 2025, but people think it will take longer. Locals are protesting a ₹488 crore flyover project on Varthur Main Road. They feel the plan is not needed and will not solve the traffic problem. Instead, people want a Metro train connection. A study has been done for a 68 km Metro line from Kalena Agrahara to Kadugodi Tree Park via Varthur.
Traffic jams are still a big problem. In the first half of 2025 alone, Bangalore added over 3 lakh (300,000) new vehicles. Groups like Project Abhimanyu are fighting for better roads and faster project work. Property prices on Varthur Road are going up. Prices are between ₹7,000 – ₹12,000 per sq. ft.. Rental demand is strong, with returns of 3.5% to 5% per year. This is because it is close to big IT offices like ITPL and RMZ Ecospace.
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