Hanuman statue's transportation brings Hennur road to a halt

The newly laid road near Hennur railway underpass was dug up to felicitate the movement of a huge 750-tonne monolithic Hanuman statue on Saturday night.

The statue, which is on its way from Kolar to Kacharakanahalli was unable to pass through the railway underpass near the Hennur Road.

"Although the statue was lying down on the vehicle, the height of the railway metal for height restrictions under the railway bridge was too short and the statue could not pass through it. In order to pass through this, they removed the metal heights, dug up the roads and even removed the newly installed streetlights in the area," said Subramanian K, a nearby resident.

This caused a mammoth traffic jam ahead of the Hennur railway underpass as the vehicle was stranded and unable to pass through the corridor.

The entire process continued even after 1 am. "The traffic was absolutely chaotic and the motorists were struck. Even if they chose to deviate from the route, it was a 7 to 8 km of deviation through Thanisandra," he said.

A few days ago, the movement of the statue was restricted into the city in view of the poll conduct. However, it was allowed after seeking the permission from traffic police and the BBMP.

Nadia Zackria, another resident living nearby said,"There was utter chaos in the area due to this one vehicle. The residents and commuters were put through a lot of trouble due to this and there is nobody to hold accountable for this."

The residents said that the BBMP officers have asked them to restore the road if there is any damage.

Ashok, joint commissioner, BBMP East was not available to comment on this issue.

However, Banaswadi traffic police said that the 300-wheel truck crossed Hennur railway underpass and reached HBR layout by 6 pm. The vehicle was given permission to move only 6 km a day and it was instructed to them not to move in peak hours.

The vehicle is expected to reach Kacharakanahalli tomorrow.