Cognizant steps up as Bengaluru drowns; issues mandatory WFH advisory
US-headquartered IT giant Cognizant was one of the few tech majors to issue a mandatory work-from-home advisory for its 40,000 workforce in the city on May 20, after relentless rainfall left major corridors submerged and roads impassable.
ADVERTISEMENT
As torrential rains turned India’s Silicon Valley into a swamp, the contrast between Bengaluru’s global tech stature and its fragile urban infrastructure couldn’t be more stark. For a city that powers some of the world’s largest IT operations, a single weather event was enough to paralyze business continuity, test corporate readiness and choke civic life.
As per a moneycontrol report, US-headquartered IT giant Cognizant was one of the few tech majors to issue a mandatory work-from-home advisory for its 40,000 workforce in the city on May 20, after relentless rainfall left major corridors submerged and roads impassable. But for hundreds of other tech professionals across companies, there was no clarity. With underpasses flooded, buses stalled and access roads blocked, many employees were left stranded or turned away at tech parks like Manyata.
The numbers tell their own story - 240 mm of rain in just 48 hours, over 20 lakes nearing overflow limits and key tech zones like Koramangala, HSR Layout and Marathahalli under knee-deep water. Social media was flooded with images of submerged office entrances and stranded commuters. At Silk Board Junction, stormwater rendered even the elevated expressway to Electronics City ineffective.
While companies like Infosys, which follow a hybrid model, left it to employees’ discretion, others like L&T Technology Services relied on informal team-level coordination.
Amidst, Bengaluru MP PC Mohan called on companies to officially declare two days of remote work, citing safety concerns. Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar acknowledged the city’s long-ignored infrastructure issues, vowing that solutions ahead would be long-term.
