Stuck in the middle

There are various obstacles for a pedestrian or motorist on the road. The yellow barricades used during traffic diversions prove to be one too.

Many a time, these are left by the police on the side of the road and even the pedestrian paths. Bangaloreans share their worries about these obstacles while the authorities claim that they are monitoring the situation.

The traffic police says that it makes it a point to clear the barricades soon as their purpose is served. “We use these barricades for diversions and when their purpose is served, they are taken away from the site,” vouches B Dayananda, additional commissioner of police (traffic).

He adds that these barricades are also used as temporary medians. “There have been times when they have been used by the law and order wing of the city police and left behind. The officials will do the needful in such a scenario,” says Dayananda.

Bangaloreans voice their concern about these barricades. Latha Sanala, a motorist, says that there are often innumerable number of traffic blocks caused by these barricades. 

“During a traffic jam, one will not even know what’s happening as one cannot see them ahead,” says Latha. She recalls the time when she was riding at full speed and there was a barricade in the middle of the road.

She almost banged the person coming from the other lane because she had to ride around the barricade. “There is always the fear of accidents in such cases,” she says.

Shruti Tadikonde, a final-year BE telecommunications student from MSR Institute of Technology, says that rarely can one see a properly located barricade in the City.

“With Bangalore hosting a lot of concerts and events in Electronic City and Yelahanka, there is heavy traffic on the road after an event. These barricades serve no purpose and cause a hindrance to the fast-moving traffic on the main roads,” says Shruti. She adds that these barricades get in the way of motorists and cause accidents especially at nights. 

Many of the motorists say that it is a common sight in the City. “One can often see it on Old Airport Road,” says Rahul Pawar, a graduate. “Most often, there will be just one barricade left behind. But sometimes there are more and the motorists have to travel between these. This could be a tricky ride,” he adds. 

According to him, many stretches are mostly empty at night. So when motorists travel at a steady speed, these barricades can prove to be a sudden shock. Sheethal Shekar says that she sees barricades haphazardly placed around the Sony World signal in Koramangala and in Ejipura and many other spots across the place and the City. 

“It becomes hard for people to even cross the road or walk on pedestrian paths as they are just placed all around. There are already a lot of cows moving around and these barricades reduce the space on the roads all the more,” she says.

Kamal Pant, additional commissioner of police (law and order), justifies that these barricades are of great help when the movement is restricted. Ask him about how these are just left around and he says that the department has been informed of this issue and the officials will look into it. “There are areas where these have not been cleared.

They will be moved to another spot soon. Often at night, the barricades are used for checking and then just pushed to the side. The department will be careful in future,” he adds.