The Chamarajpet and Rajajinagar areas are not far from each other. But the disastrously poor condition of the roads linking them has meant that travelling between them is a taxing experience.
Waterlogged and potholed streets coupled with unruly traffic conditions, including vehicles overtaking from the wrong side, have ensured that nothing less than half an hour is required to traverse a small distance.
Flooding during rains at the Binny Mills junction becomes a big headache to commuters headed to the Star Bazaar junction near Sujatha Theatre. On a typical day, commuters take the route passing through the Leprosy Hospital – a three-kilometre stretch. On rainy days, commuters have to take an alternative route of five kilometres through Majestic, owing to traffic diversions.
“Every time I travel from Chamarajpet to Rajajinagar after a rainfall, my two-wheeler is certain to break down,” said Niran S C, a student who takes the route every day. “The water comes up to my thigh and I almost have to push the bike across.”
“The horrible condition of the roads aggravates the flooding,” said traffic analyst M N Srihari. He said flooding also makes it difficult to identify where the footpath is located.
“The Binny Mills junction is a key link between KR Market and Mysore Road.
If there is congestion here, it is certain to cause a much bigger problem,” Srihari said. Speaking to Deccan Herald, police inspector K S Puttamma agreed with this observation and said vehicles find it extremely difficult to pass this junction.
“The bottleneck at Binny Mills junction causes problems on Magadi Road and at Sirsi junction,” she said.
Commuters claimed that traffic police constables posted at the junction frequently warn car drivers that they may not be able to proceed on the stretch and sometimes prevent even two-wheelers from entering the underpass.