2025 will be remembered as a landmark year for Bengaluru, as the city’s governance structure was innovatively rehauled, almost two decades after a similar reboot in 2007. But none of the problems faced by the residents of the State capital were solved, or even reduced.
Parts of the city were flooded in May, roads were characterised by potholes, the chatter of Bengaluru becoming unviable for business due to its notorious traffic and infrastructure shortcomings kept getting louder – prompting neighbouring States to double down on efforts to woo industry from the city.
Among other things, the under-construction Ejipura flyover persisted as the flag-bearer of the roadblocks to the development of infrastructure in the city.
The opening of the Yellow Line of Namma Metro was a silver lining, but came with its own set of problems, the most glaring being a much-needed line that lacks trains to carry commuters.
What scarred the city the most in 2025 was the high of a Royal Challengers Bengaluru victory in the final of the IPL, after waiting for 17 years, turning into a blot in a matter of hours. As fan frenzy reached its zenith, 11 persons died in a stampede outside the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium while trying to get inside to join the celebrations. Some heads rolled, cricket was stopped in the stadium, but the 11 lives lost will forever be a black mark on the administrators of the city.
On the political front, each passing day in 2025 provided more grist to keep the rumours mills busy with speculation over leadership change in Karnataka.
Photo:
Sudhakara Jain
Just another day in the city: A dog tagged to a gas cylinder at Nayandahalli in Bengaluru.
Photo:
K Murali Kumar
A 25-foot bronze statue of Goddess Bhuvaneshwari, revered as the goddess of Kannada, was installed at the western entrance of Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru on January 27, 2025.
Photo:
K Murali Kumar
The IAF’s Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team (SKAT) in their iconic red-and-white Hawk Mk-132 jets, during the final dress rehearsal for the AERO INDIA 2025 – Air Show at Yelahanka Air Force Station, in Bengaluru on February 6, 2025.
Photo:
K Murali Kumar
Namma Metro workers inside the under-construction tunnel near M. G. Road station on the Pink Line on February 17, 2025. The M.G. Road station will serve as an interchange with the Purple Line. The Pink Line’s underground section, spanning 20.99 km, is the longest in Bengaluru. The Pink Line connects Kalena Agrahara (Gottigere) on Bannerghatta Road in the south to Nagawara in the north. The line will have 18 stations — 12 underground and 6 elevated.
Photo:
K Murali Kumar
An Indian Long – Billed Vulture (Gyps Indicus) with its chick on a cliff, about 3,000 feet high, on the crevice of a monolith that’s characteristic of Ramanagara, at India’s only vulture sanctuary, at Ramadevarabetta, 50 km southwest of Bengaluru on March 16, 2025. The arrival of the chick marked the fourth consecutive year of successful breeding in the sanctuary, which was established in 2012, and offers a sign of hope for the dwindling population of long-billed vultures in the area. The fact that a female vulture lays only one egg per year is a major challenge to increasing their population.
Photo:
K Murali Kumar
The Cauvery Arati, modelled on Ganga Arati in Varanasi, at Sankey Tank in Bengaluru on March 21, 2025. In a symbolic gesture, water from Bhagamandala, where the Cauvery originates, was distributed as prasad. The initiative is part of the Karnataka government’s efforts to promote water conservation and to honour Cauvery river. The event included a lighting display, a laser show and a live orchestra performance.
Photo:
Sudhakara Jain
Sai Layout was flooded following heavy overnight rain in Bengaluru on May 19, 2025. Flooding is becoming a regular feature of Bengaluru during the monsoon.
Photo:
K Murali Kumar
A trained kumki elephant poses for photographs at Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru on May 21, 2025. A few trained kumki elephants were handed over to Andhra Pradesh to tackle man-elephant conflict along the Karnataka-Andhra Pradesh border.
Photo:
K Murali Kumar
Scene outside one of the gates of M. Chinnaswamy Stadium after thousands of RCB fans tried to gain entry during the IPL-18 victory celebration, in Bengaluru on June 4, 2025. The incident was seen as a black mark on the administrators of the city.
Photo:
K Murali Kumar
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah poses with a javelin, presented to him by Neeraj Chopra (in red shirt), winner of the 1st edition of Neeraj Chopra Classic 2025, at Sri Kanteerava Stadium, in Bengaluru on July 5, 2025. At left is Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot, and at right is Home Minister G. Parameshwara.
Photo:
K Murali Kumar
Blue Tigers butterflies (Tirumala limniace), around a host plant, near the Jenukallu Siddeshwara Swamy temple, in the periphery of B. R. Hills, in Chamarajanagara district of Karnataka. The seasonal migration of Dark Blue Tiger butterflies is a feature of South India. This migration is linked to the monsoon cycle, with butterflies moving from the Western Ghats to the Eastern Ghats during the pre-monsoon and returning after the monsoon season.
Photo:
K Murali Kumar
Nature offered a visual spectacle, coined ‘Blood Moon – Lunar Eclipse 2025’, as the moon moved across the shadow cast by Earth, as seen in this combination of pictures shot in Bengaluru on September 8, 2025.
Photo:
K Murali Kumar
A hyperactive little yellow bird with an off-white belly and white ‘spectacles’, known as Indian white-eye (Zosterops palpebrosus), stretching its wings on a hot day in Bengaluru, on September 9, 2025.
Photo:
K Murali Kumar
An artisan prepares an idol of Goddess Durga ahead of the Navratri festival, in Bengaluru on September 10, 2025.
Photo:
Allen Egenuse J
Madhu, an artisan with over 60 years of experience, continues to skilfully craft bamboo baskets despite age-related vision loss, on Netaji Road in Bengaluru on October 13, 2025.
Photo:
Sudhakara Jain
New peak caps being handed over to Karnataka police personnel, at Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru, on October 28, 2025.
Photo:
Allen Egenuse J
Children watch content on a mobile phone lying under a pushcart during the annual Kadalekai Parishe (groundnut fair) at Malleswaram in Bengaluru on November 8, 2025.
Photo:
Sudhakara Jain
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D. K. Shivakumar at Bengaluru Tech Summit 2025, in Bengaluru on November 18, 2025. The first such gathering was organised in 1998, and has since evolved into the flagship event of the government of Karnataka to showcase and strengthen its leadership position in the IT sector in India.
Published – December 26, 2025 04:17 pm IST
