Nightmare on Bannerghatta Road

Risking possible accident at every step is part of Arekere Gate resident Jayaram’s routine. He runs into this reporter, who had been watching him hazardously wade through rush-hour traffic on Bannerghatta Road to get to the other side.

“I know what I’m doing is not right, but there is no other choice,” says Jayaram.His justification:  “When pedestrians see a little chance, we wade through heavy traffic. There are a lot of possibilities for accidents, but we are forced to do so.”

Bannerghatta Road is just another busy road in the city, where danger lurks at every stride for pedestrians and motorists.

“Despite being one of the busiest roads, there is no subway or skywalk that allows pedestrians to safely cross the road,” says Ujwal Rajamanindra.  Accidents are a common sight at this road, says Manjunath, an autorickshaw driver. 

“Trees planted on the median increases the risk of accidents. Motorists are caught off guard when pedestrians run in the middle of the road from the bushes on the median. Sometimes, the motorists helplessly end up hitting them.” Bannerghatta Road has seen many fatal road incidents in the past.

“My co-worker, Sridhar, was killed in a road accident after he came under a BMTC bus near Gopalan Mall. The recklessly parked public buses add to the woes of the pedestrians,” decries Ramya Nagaraj, an HR professional.

For women and older people, getting to the other side of the road is a question of life and death.  Crossing the road is a rather risky math involving speed, time and distance for pedestrians. Each walker, unknowingly, uses the Distance = Speed x Time formula to gauge the risk and sprint between the speeding vehicles.

“We are young and somehow we manage to cross the road amid vehicles. For elder people, it gets very dangerous,” says Saddam Bava Khan, a resident of BTM Layout II stage. 

“Once I was struck down by a bike on Hosur Road while crossing the road. It’s very difficult. A subway is the need of the hour for pedestrians on this road,” recounts Khan.