Netizens compare Suez Canal blockade to Bengaluru traffic snarls

BENGALURU: Bengalureans are drawing parallels between the Suez Canal blockade and traffic jams in the city.The 193-km-long, 200-metre-wide Suez Canal — an artificial sea-level waterway — in Egypt got blocked after the Ever Given container ship (operated by Taiwanese company Evergreen Marine) got wedged across the waterbody on Tuesday. The canal links the Mediterranean and Red seas through Egypt and provides the shortest sea link between Asia and Europe.The 400-metre-long vessel (weighing around 200,000 tonnes) stuck across the canal has stranded hundreds of ships on either side and has led to a massive ‘traffic jam’. While it is feared that the incident will cause huge losses to the world economy, memes, jokes and even comparisons with Bengaluru’s traffic-choked roads are flooding the virtual space. Netizens say the Suez Canal is ‘Bangalore’d’.“Suez Canal has just been Bangalore’d! (sic),” tweeted Meandering Wonk. Another user, Sahil Kapoor, wrote: “Suez Canel is the new Bangalore.”Vidya Nagaraj tweeted: “Life’s all about putting things in perspective. Not so stressed out now about an upcoming visit to the other side of the Silk Board junction. The Bangalore traffic cops could say - ‘Don’t worry about Silk Board traffic, what would you do if you had been stuck in the Suez Canal blockade?”Netizens are having a gala time comparing Bengaluru roads to Suez Canal and BMTC buses to the massive vessels. Mohammed Zeeshan, an author, tweeted: “I can totally imagine this happening to a BMTC bus in Bangalore, in real life. Suez Canal has got nothing on our potholed roads! (sic).”A post by Yandalli from Bengaluru read: “Bengaluru BBMP brainstorming solution for Suez Canal traffic jam - “build flyover saar”, “no, no, the underpass is bettrru (better).”Some netizens like Gautham suggested utilising the expertise of city auto drivers to meander through the jam. “...Most auto drivers will look at that space and say “Alli rightu’la nodi, sikkabittu jagaa idhe... hogi, hogi (Look at right, there is so much space there. Go go) (sic)!” he tweeted.Some said the canal blockade was nothing in comparison to the infamous bottlenecks in the city. City-based senior software engineer Mamoon Fahmi, who has been following the news closely, told TOI the situation is rare and complicated. “It is hilarious because there has been no loss of lives or huge damage, but the economic losses are serious. What if prices of crude oil and other goods increase because of this blockade?” he said.Naila Siddiqa, a teacher, said: “If ships must travel all around Africa, it might lead to a spike in cost of goods and fuel wastage and this might have a domino effect.”