The highway to hell

Raining woes

Bengaluru’s faultlines — poor infrastructure, mismanaged traffic and abysmal public transport — are exposed whenever it rains. Roads are clogged and overflowing, making it impossible to walk or drive on and getting to one’s destination becomes a nightmarish experience.

Cabs and autorickshaws act pricey, while BMTC buses and Metro trains are jampacked. Those who don’t travel by their own vehicle say that they have to explore alternative means of travel which includes carpooling, cycling or simply walking in such situations. Once on road, traffic jams take over and all movement is reduced to a crawl.

The safest way to get home whenever it rains, believes Muhammed Hassan, an IT professional, is to cycle. He concedes that it is indeed tough to wade through almost flooded roads. “The advantage of cycling in the rain is that there will be a lesser number of 2-wheelers and it is a safe way to travel. I try to ride in a straight line and be predictable for other vehicles, even if there are potholes on the road. Since I take the same route everyday, I know the roads quite well and easily avoid big potholes,” says Hassan. He agrees that the ride is not an easy one but says that the positive aspects overweigh the negative ones.

The low-lying areas such as Ejipura, Koramangala, Kamakshipalya, eastern parts of the city and Gurappanapalya to mention a few, get flooded with not just rain water but sewage as well. Rakesh Ponappa, a software professional, who travels from Sanjaynagar to Whitefield everyday for work, says that there have been times when his 2-wheeler has got stuck in the rain. “I’ve stopped using my bike and prefer to take the airport bus from Whitefield. They aren’t very frequent but one is assured of its arrival. The BMTC buses are not reliable and sometimes tend to change their route. I have to get off half-way and then walk home. There’s no other way to get home when it rains,” observes Rakesh.

There are people like Raghu Malamandi, a creative consultant, who never travels by his own vehicle whenever it rains. Instead, he chooses to carpool with a few of his colleagues who live in the same area. “There are no cabs or autorickshaws who are willing to go wherever you want them to whenever it rains. They take advantage of the situation and try to get the commuter to agree to their terms of travel,” says Raghu. He says that he finds carpooling not only a cheaper but also a safer option.

A lot of people have been regularly using the Metro Rail and it runs packed whenever it rains, observes Jyothi Krishnan, a legal consultant and a regular commuter on the Metro. She says she faces the problem of connectivity after she gets off the Metro. “I live just 3 kilometres away from the Metro station and whenever it rains I find it hard to get an autorickshaw back home. They either refuse to come for short distances or charge almost double the metre charge. There are also no Metro feeder services available at the station,” says Jyothi.

When asked about why autorickshaw drivers and taxi drivers refuse to take passengers, M Manjunatha, president Adarsha Auto and Taxi Drivers Union, says, “We don’t have the power to take any action against autos and cabs who refuse to take passengers. It is the traffic police who should take action against those who refuse. We can only counsel and advice auto drivers to follow the rules. People must complain to the traffic police if they face such situations.”