JOIN USThe pile-up after rains
With just a few minutes of rain, the roads turn into overflowing rivers of dirty water that the commuters have to wade through.
And if that wasn’t enough, the potholes, live wires and broken trees add to the travails of the citizens. And during such times, when all you want is to get to your destination as soon as possible, the traffic piles up forcing you to be on the road for an even longer time than usual.
Metrolife speaks to a few Bangaloreans to find out about their experiences with traffic during the recent showers.
Sakar Upadhyay, a senior engineer with IBM, is a resident of Yelahanka and had a tough time battling the traffic during the rain as the underbridge near his house got flooded. On top of that, his bike started giving problems as well.
“The road was flooded so the water got into the silencer and the bike got stuck,” he says. According to him, traffic piles up after the rain because everyone suddenly wants to rush back home before it starts raining again. “And since most of the main roads become non-usable due to overflowing drains, people opt for alternate routes which, as a result, also get jammed.”
Nayantara Kurpad, a student of Jain College, was stuck on Bannerghatta Road for a long time. “I was just five minutes away from home and the traffic was so bad that I couldn’t stop or move my car. In fact, some people had turned off their engines,” she says.
And of course the autos give the commuters biggest trouble during rains! Nayantara adds, “My mom and I were walking back home on Saturday when it started pouring. Since the autos were charging Rs 50 for a minimum distance, we ended up taking a bus,” she says.
“Though everyone complains, I don’t know why nothing is done about the situation. The roads get badly flooded every time it rains and it’s been like this forever. Hopefully, by the next rains, the condition of the City will be better.”
On being asked about this, Praveen Sood, Additional Commissioner for Traffic and Security says, “Whenever it rains for around 20-25 minutes in the City, many junctions get waterlogged and the depth of this overflowing water is around four or five feet. Even the underpasses get filled and drainages start overflowing. In such a scenario, we have to stop the traffic as there are chances of people getting washed away.” He adds, “Saving lives is surely more important than helping people reach home early. For example, if there is a live wire on the road, I cannot be letting the traffic go. So it has to come to a halt.”
Is there any solution for this? He answers, “If each civic agency does its job well, there will be no problem at all. Even in the past few days, I have been bringing problems to the notice of the authorities concerned. We have to work together and we do keep holding meetings with each other.”
“For instance, in case an electric pole falls down, we have to work with the BESCOM or if a tree has fallen down, we have to with the Fire Department or the Disaster Management Committee. In this way, we have to work together and curb the problems.”