JOIN USGovt sets 45-day deadline to decongest City roads
Home Minister K J George on Friday set a deadline of 45 days for various civic agencies and traffic police to reduce congestion in the City.
The directive follows a meeting with officers of traffic police, Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited and Bangalore Metropolitan Region Development Authority, to take stock of the situation following sudden deterioration of condition of roads after incessant heavy rain over the last fortnight.
After Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s whirlwind inspection, expressing his disappointment over delays in completing the infrastructure projects, it was George’s turn to take stock of the traffic congestion.
Stating that there is no better alternative than public transport to ease traffic congestion, George said he would speak to the chief minister on expediting the mono rail project.
“We intend to make the mono rail a feeder service to metro train services. This is the only way we can decongest the City roads,” he added.
At the detailed meeting chaired by George, it was decided to have a two-pronged strategy to tackle the burgeoning vehicular population in the City.
“We have prepared a booklet listing out various reasons as to why the City is facing heavy traffic congestion. The booklet looks at both long-term and short-term measures for reducing the commuters’ woes. Based on this booklet, we have asked the agencies to submit an Action Taken Report (ATR) within 45 days,” George said.
On short-term solutions, George said the traffic police had given a list of roads to the civic agencies, which need immediate attention by way of filling potholes or re-laying of surface. The Home department has also given instruction to the BBMP for cleaning shoulder drains and stormwater drains (SWDs) to ensure that water-logging does not happen on the adjacent roads.
“This apart, from a long-term perspective, we have asked the BDA to add a loop to the existing flyover along the Old Madras Road (OMR) to ensure that people can take a U-turn for getting on to the outer ring road. Commuters are currently forced to go up to the K R Puram flyover and take a U-turn, resulting in traffic jams on that stretch,” the minister said.
The other major long-term solution envisaged is the long-pending decision to widen the Bellary and Jayamahal Road for easing traffic movement. “We have asked private agencies located inside the Palace Grounds to construct a road so as to allow an entry from Bellary Road and exit from Jayamahal Road. But there needs to be a connecting road from inside. This is their (private companies’ and royal family members’) prerogative. If the connecting road is not provided inside, then we will request the chief secretary to not permit anymore events to be held inside the grounds,” George said.
The Palace Grounds case is currently pending before the Supreme Court and the State has also submitted its petition to take possession of a portion of the land road for widening, he added.
* Improvement of 35 important junctions.
* Improvement of pedestrian facilities with more skywalks
* BMRCL to come out with a comprehensive traffic management plan
* BBMP, BDA and the State government to share in BMRCL's Rs 250 crore plan
* Resolving the dispute pertaining to Palace Grounds for a flyover on Sankey Road - Mehkri Circle - Hebbal.