Says K C Banerjee, a civil engineer: “The underpass is a failure to a very large extent. It is absolutely not in accordance with the modern scientific techniques and creates more chaos for commuters. The officers’ claim that it is a latest foreign technology is absurd.”
The design of the underpass reduces the speed of the vehicles to as low as 10 kmph (some time dead slow) before taking a U-turn above the underpass surface. Most people agree that apart from eliminating one signal, it has not done anything. The vehicular traffic still continues to move at a snail pace during peak hours and many believe that it is nothing but a wholesome nuisance.
The attached drainage system is also haphazardly designed and water gets clogged there flooding the basement of the building next to Girias showroom. “The underpass has made our lives miserable. The storm water from many parts of Sadashivanagar flows into our building as there is no channel for the water to flow to the other side of the road, where there are big drains,” says S Ganesh Shenoy, an advocate and the owner of
the building. Both BWSSB and BBMP are to be collectively blamed, opines Shenoy.
The absence of pedestrian crossings is another worrying factor for those who work in the nearby business establishments as they have to risk their lives crossing the roads.
Several pedestrians, including senior citizens and women, express their difficulty in crossing the road. Narayana Swami, a senior citizen, complains, “It is difficult to cross the road especially during peak hours. Sometimes it takes 10 to 15 minutes to move a few steps.”
TRAFFIC POLICE SPEAK (Sadashivanagar Police)
- The so-called first cost effective technology ‘magic box’ at Cauvery Junction is a burden on the traffic police.
- The only advantage of the magic box is it has converted the stretch between Bhashyam Circle to Palace Road into a signal-free one.
- It has led to confusion above the magic box and congestion inside the box.
- The designers failed to provide pedestrian crossing facility which is most important.
- Vehicles of larger sizes find it extremely difficult to move and take turns which automatically reduces speed.
- There is no alternative for vehicles in case of a jam inside the magic box.
