In the meantime, the business of the entrepreneurs along the respective roads have also dipped into their lowest records.

Though the ban on the vehicle movement from KSRTC bus stand to Bejai church did not affect much on the traffic as well as business, the closure of the road between Jyothi Circle to Collector’s Gate has severely affected the traffic specially on other parts of the City.

The most affected ‘victim’ of these traffic diversions is, perhaps, the Bunts Hostel Circle, located in the heart of Mangalore. When traffic had been banned between Jyothi Circle to Hampankatta a few months ago, it was this circle that had suffered heavily.

Though in the present case there is no traffic from Balmatta side to this circle, the rush has doubled or tripled from  Mallikatta side.

“The junction usually witnesses continuous traffic on all working days; but the situation gets worsened in the morning, noon and evening, the peek hours. As the area is surrounded by many educational institutions, from KG to PG, the rush is not uncommon in the morning and afternoon,” says a shopkeeper near the Bunts Hostel Circle.
“As the place is a prime area of the City, it always buzzes with hectic activities. However, after the closure of Jyothi-Balmatta road, our condition is miserable. In fact, nobody waits even for a few seconds, which is the main reason for traffic jams here,” says Madhu Kiran, a bank employee.

Though sophisticated traffic signals have been proposed at various junctions including Bunts Hostel Circle, no official concerned is sure that how long the process will take.

Authorities among the traffic police said they have been trying their level best to regulate the traffic mechanism, but it is sure that all temporary traffic diversions are in the view of long term public good.

Business dips
The business on Jyothi-Balmatta road has gone dull after the traffic diversions. From hotels to medicals, from petrol pumps to general stores, entrepreneurs of all kinds of business centres are worried of their loss increasing day by day.

One Mr Vinod, the in-charge of a petrol bunk on the road said their business has gone down upto 75 per cent in the last ten days, as only certain regular customers and two-wheelers are approaching them.
For Mr Augustine Pinto, a medical shop owner, nobody can earn a good business if the place does not have a proper road. Mr Moosabba Talakala, who owns a restaurant on the road said his business is “almost dead” in the recent days.

 Mr Rohit Rao, the chief executive of a electronics and appliciances showroom said everybody experiences the heat mainly because the road is closed during the festive season of the year. Though most of the entrepreneurs have the complaint of decrease in their business, many of them are hopeful that the project ends on time.
 “If we need infrastructure development, we have to bear these miseries. It is for a better tomorrow,” said Ananth Prabhu, a general merchant.

But the entrepreneurs observed that better alternative roads should have been provided, and footpath on the same stretch could have been maintained better at least for the convenience of pedestrians.