JOIN USThe problems on Bannerghatta Road seem to be increasing by the day. The issues include traffic bottlenecks, endless honking, overtaking from all sides and more. The two-and-half km-stretch from Dairy Circle to Jayadeva Hospital is quite a ‘dreaded’ part of Bannerghatta Road.
Residents living near the stretch, like Jayakumar KN, say that this must be the worst stretch for any Bangalorean to travel on. “Since there are many IT companies near Dairy Circle, their office vehicles ply on this stretch. There are also a lot of commercial vehicles, which add to the quantum of traffic on the road,” says Jayakumar. He adds that it is also scary how two-wheelers overtake from both sides of the road and this, in the presence of traffic officials.
Many like Rahul Jain, a businessman, say that the stretch has no streetlights, which makes it dangerous. “This makes it difficult for both the pedestrians and the motorists to move around safely. The worst part is the humps that are there on this stretch which cannot be seen because of lack of lighting,” he says. He points out that this is a scary portion for people to walk around too. He also points out that it lacks proper drainage system. “The stench makes it almost impossible for any pedestrian to walk by. Also, when the water overflows, it gets hard for the motorists to identify the road from the drainage area, which is dangerous,” she says.
One can barely see proper pedestrian paths here as either they have rubble on them because of the ongoing projects or garbage.
Jayalaleetha Kannan, a homemaker, says, “The pedestrian path on the stretch is a joke. I’m not sure if any part of the stretch has a proper pavement. Either the slabs are broken or the footpath has some obstruction on it. Also, half part of the pavement cannot be seen as it is not laid properly.”
Many have approached the authorities but no solution has come out. J Krishnan, president of Bannerghatta Neighbourhood Association, says that it is an ordeal to get through this stretch. “The ride from MG Road to Dairy Circle is smooth apart from the stretch in front of the marble shops near Adugodi. The volume of traffic increases from Dairy Circle to Jayadeva Hospital because of the many IT companies there. There are some on the main road and some in the interior roads and vehicular movement is maximum between 5 pm and 8 pm and later. Staggering of work hours is one of the solutions for this, but despite approaching the police on the same, the companies say that their rules are laid by their parent companies abroad,” he details.
He adds that the width of the road is small and the number of vehicles using this stretch has increased more than ten-fold, which affects vehicular movement.
“We keep hearing about road widening on this stretch, but nothing has happened till now,” says Krishnan.
He also notes that the intersection on this stretch faces issues. Instead of motorists from one lane turning right, one can see motorists from all lanes taking the right turn together often.
“One can see motorists from three or four lanes taking the right turn obstructing the movement of motorists who intend to go straight. The solution for this is to close these intersections so that people, who have to go to other areas, can turn from Dairy Circle itself and not enter this stretch,” he sums up.