Lower traffic than usual in City

The City experienced a fairly congestion-free movement of vehicles on Tuesday, the second day of the ban on private buses and lorries for Invest Karnataka 2016.

The City centre did not see any jams and vehicles were seen moving relatively freely. Travellers from the western parts to the City centre said the drive was much easier than on usual days.

“I travelled by bus from Rajajinagar to MG Road. Normally, it takes me one-and-a half-hours, but today I made it in one hour. The bus was travelling faster than usual. And I also saw light traffic as I travelled from Majestic to Residency Road. It was a pleasant change,” said Manish, a private firm staffer.

Krishnappa of Basavanagudi said Ananda Rao Circle area near Majestic and KR Road were relatively free today. “It takes me an hour to reach MG Road via Majestic, but today I could do it in around 30 minutes, which came as a surprise to me.”

Towards evening, the Ananda Rao Circle road was much freer and almost empty. Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) M A Saleem said: “Today was the first time I did not receive a WhatsApp complaint that the traffic was heavy or that there was a jam. Usually, I receive such messages every day. The roads we saw were relatively free today. We attribute it to the removal of buses and lorries from the City’s main areas and roads. The pollution also would have been less today.”

Joint Commissioner (Transport) Narendra Holkar said the day’s traffic was relatively much lesser than on regular days. “I travel from KR Puram every day. Today, I was able to reach Hebbal relatively faster. It usually takes an hour, but today it took about 35-40 minutes. This is by and large due to the lower number of private buses on the roads.”

Ballari Road from Mekhri Circle to Cauvery theatre junction also saw low traffic. It is usually a busy stretch with vehicles from Sankey Road joining the traffic from Mekhri Circle at the Cauvery junction.