Watch | Bengaluru Mysuru Expressway flooded after first pre ...

Bengaluru: Following the rain that lashed the region on Friday night and Saturday morning, the Bengaluru Mysuru Expressway flooded at Ramanagara, raising concerns about its ability to withstand the rains. The expressway was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi a few days ago.

The 118 km long Bengaluru-Mysuru highway, built at a cost of Rs 8,480 crore, was flooded close to Bengaluru's neighbouring Ramanagara district after rainfall on Friday night.

The same location was submerged for days during the heavy rains last year and the National Highways Authorities India (NHAI) had promised to fix it.

The incident led to severe criticism against the authorities with many alleging that the expressway was built in a hurry to open it before the ensuing elections.

The water logging resulted in slowing down the vehicle on the high-speed access-controlled expressway.

Multiple bumper-to-bumper accidents also took place on the expressway following the rain and flooding.

A Maruti Swift car of Vikas turned off in the middle of a waterlogged road and a lorry approaching from behind rammed into his car. "Who will be held responsible for this?" angry Vikas asked.

Another passenger Nagaraju also said his car was hit by other vehicles in the waterlogged stretch of the expressway. He said multiple accidents happened soon after water started filling the underbridge.

NHAI officials reached the waterlogged location on Saturday morning and started cleaning out the floodwater.

PM Modi inaugurated the 118-kilometre-long Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway on March 12, cutting travel time from three hours to about 75 minutes.

The expressway is built in two separate phases, one measuring 61 km between Nidaghatta and Mysore and another having 58 km between Bengaluru and Nidaghatta. The highway has elevated corridors that are 8 km long, 42 small bridges, 64 underpasses, 11 overpasses, four Road-Over-Bridges (ROBs), and five bypasses.