A stretch of misery

Battling poor traffic and road conditions in the City has become a norm for Bangaloreans. While in many areas, roads are now being widened and traffic police officials are being designated to ease bottlenecks, some stretches in the City are crying for attention.

One of these is the stretch from Jayadeva Hospital to Meenakshi Temple on Bannerghatta Road. While the authorities claim that solutions are on the way, it doesn’t seem so.

Snehalatha BV, who resides on Bannerghatta Road, near Meenakshi Temple, points out, “Traffic is not limited to peak hours on this road. Even in the afternoon, we get stuck and so is the case at night, even after 10 pm,” she says.

Snehalatha suggests that the road be widened to eight lanes or create alternate routes. “The Arekere Gate signal is the most dreaded one in our area. There is complete chaos in the mornings when there are school buses and private buses waiting for people to board. There has been no cops on this stretch ever,” she says.

Snehalatha also points out that there is constant honking because of the traffic, which makes the situation unbearable.

There is absolutely no lane sense in the people, says Gurpreet Singhania, a student, who stays close to the Fortis Hospitals, on this road. “When traffic piles up, two-wheelers ride on the pavements. This has even led to accidents on the stretch as the pavements are narrow and not uniform,” she says. She also points out that pavements have missing slabs and are open traps.

The residents also point out that since this stretch, like many others, sees a mix of residential and commercial land users, the traffic is uncontrollable.

“The traffic is mixed, which includes buses from the national park, trucks with huge loads, buses, cars and ambulances,” details Daksha Barai, a retired professor of geography. “This stretch has an uneven topography of pavements, which affects the pedestrians most. Also, the stone slabs missing on pavements have not been replaced.

There is a stone and mud make-shift arrangement done on this stretch for missing slabs. But when it rains, the mud slides off,” she says.

She also points out that the garbage situation is pathetic on this stretch. “There is garbage on the pavements which make the pedestrians walk on the road, adding to the confusion. Also, there is a constant pile of garbage in front of IIMB,” she says.

The traffic situation has been chaotic on this stretch since years, says J Krishnan, president of Bannerghatta Neighbourhood Association. “The growth on this stretch has been tremendous since the past few years, which has lead to more vehicles on the road. NICE Road sees a lot of traffic and vehicles to and from this road add to the bottleneck on Bannerghatta Road, which cannot support this number of vehicles,”he says.

He also notes that trucks and long-distance vehicles from Hosur Road and other roads are seen on Bannerghatta Road.

The lanes are not wide for a smooth traffic flow. “There seems to be no regulations on the movement of these heavy vehicles in City limits during daytime,” he says. He also points out that there are many vehicles parked on pavements or on the sides of the roads too. “Buses —  private and the BMTC — are seen stopping in front of the signal, which adds to the chaos. The road is not wide enough for other vehicles to pass by the side,” he says.

The authorities, however, say that they are working towards improving the situation. B Dayananda, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic), says that widening of the road has been under the consideration of the BBMP since last year.

When asked whether there will be more traffic officials designated on the stretch, he replies, “The availability of traffic cops is according to the strength of the police force, and we have to manage with available staff.

But we have strict rules against pavement riding and have been issuing Rs 100 fine on perpetrators, along with suspension of driving licence.”

About the widening of the road on this stretch, M Lakshminarayana, Commissioner, BBMP, says that there is a proposal to widen Bannerghatta Road to 45 metres in width, and the action has been initiated. “But people need to cooperate with us by providing space for the work to progress.

The stretch near and after Ring Road are the crucial areas to be worked on,” he says. He also clarifies that once the work progresses, the condition of the pavements will also improve.