A bumpy ride!

A world-class City that is setting higher standards by the day. That’s Bangalore for you! However, when it comes to the roads of the City, the same cannot be said unfortunately. Take a ride on the roads and a bump here and a pothole there will surely leave you exhausted.

Mental duress, spondylitis (inflammation of the vertebrae of the spine), breathing problems, backpains, you name it — namma Bengalureans would have faced it all. Besides, riding on pothole-filled-roads leads to the wastage of the most precious commodity of all — time! Metrolife spoke to a few commuters in the City to find out the various problems they have encountered while riding on the ‘treacherous terrains’ of Bangalore.

Manisha, a student of biotechnology at St Joseph’s College of Arts and Science, regularly rides in the City. “Most roads are full of potholes and whenever accidents happen, they are pretty bad,” she says.

“Though the authorities complete the work on the roads, many a time, they are a bit too late. For instance, they realise the roads are a mess only after an accident happens.”  Her experience with Kamraj Road, near Commercial Street, has been pretty bad.

“It used to be full of potholes. Though they have tarred it up now, during rains, the road is in a terrible state. The drains start overflowing.” More than health problems, the trouble Manisha faces is due to the fact that she is a woman driver.

“Women drivers get teased so badly on the toads. Rowdies and tempo drivers cut in your path and keep hooting.” Chatur Pishay, a software consultant, has faced many problems riding on the roads of Bangalore as well.

After all, commuting a long distance from Indiranagar to Banaswadi and back everyday is not easy! Add to that the terrible stretches that he has to go on, the problem just becomes worse.

“Forget the potholes, there is no road itself to ride on in many of the stretches,” Chatur says. “Especially the Byappanahalli stretch that connects Old Madras Road to Kasturi Nagar. It’s full of debris on one side and potholes on the other.”

He adds, “Due to debris particles flying on all sides, I get dust allergies at times. Sometimes, if the allergy aggravates, you get rashes all over your body. And it’s even more problematic when dust goes into your eyes.”  

In order to prevent himself from losing balance while going on the crater and pothole-filled roads of the City, Chatur rides a heavy bike — the Bullet.

 “I have seen many people fall down in front of me and I just keep hoping the same doesn’t happen to me,” he says.  Dr M B Rajashekhar, a chest physician in the City, feels the most common problem faced while driving on the bumpy roads of Bangalore, is pollution.

“With the increase in population and vehicles in the City, there is a lot of pollution. The smoke and dust on the roads may lead to chest problems resulting in cough, wheezing and allergy, and sometimes, even bronchitis and eosinophilia (an infiltration of the lungs).”

According to him, the authorities must take action as soon as possible.  “There is a lot of debris left unattended to in the City which is a breeding ground for mosquitoes and stench. So it’s high time the authorities do something.”