Be it for traffic towards Mysuru or vice-versa, the choking point is the same: Nayandhalli junction. Till the Namma Metro work ends here, citizens have to put up with long waits.
The junction is just around the Bangalore University main gate. People coming from Kengeri and further on say that the congestion at this point is maddening, the dust harmful and the traffic waiting time unbearably long.
Ask anyone from around Kengeri about problems they face while travelling to the City centre, the first thing they tell you is about this nightmarish traffic bottleneck.
Nagaraj H, who has been a long-time resident of Kengeri, explains how the access to Southwest Bangalore from the City centre is a chock-a-block exercise. “The peak traffic times are between 9 am to 11.30 am. You have to prepare for an hour’s delay in the least when you want to get to the City,” he says.
At the Nayandhalli junction, three projects are in progress including the Namma Metro. “We have been telling authorities that the waiting for the green signal is very long at the junction, but no help has come. The wait ranges from 20 minutes to 30 minutes and sometimes when the peak traffic is bad, it takes about 40 minutes. Imagine the density of traffic then. Traffic during evening times is very heavy, say from 3.30 pm onwards until 9.30-10 pm.”
The inflow of vehicles from Mysuru gets heavy in the evening. This return traffic hits the local traffic and together they create a pile, points out Nagaraj.
Maithreya J S, a fourth year student of RVCE who commutes to his house on the same road, echoes Nagaraj’s observation.
“The choking point is Nayandhalli. From RVCE to Nayandhalli, the traffic is manageable, but during peak hours, the wait gets long. The heat generated by vehicles and the work going on at Nayandhalli adds to the dust generated at that point. You breathe dust literally. We haven’t seen authorities do anything about the dust. My fear is the projects will go on for another three years. That means there is no immediate relief in sight.”
Maithreya feels the conversion of Mysuru road from a two lane highway to a four lane did help initially. But now, the vehicular density has increased so much that even another widening may not suffice to decongest the road.
At Nayandhalli, the road turns to left, right and in circular fashion. If one is not aware of which road to take to get to BHEL, Vijayanagar and Sirsi Circle, one may end up getting on to the ring road and hit Nagarbhavi part of the road.
According to Nagaraj, the Rajarajeshwari nagar entrance sees plenty of vehicles, becoming the first choking point. “We have been telling authorities for the last five years to clear the road upto Nayandhalli and beyond, but nobody is lisitening. They even ask us why we come with the same problem to them again and again. The stock reply is that nothing can be done until the Metro work and work on the flyover to Sirsi Circle gets ready. We don’t have an alternative, so just wait, is what they say.”
Mysuru Road was widened earlier to a four-lane highway following increase in the vehicles plying to Mysuru and back. But concurrently, there has been a steep rise in the number of vehicles. Most people who have relatives in Mysuru, people who run small and medium scale industries, people who go to see the Brindavan Gardens and Chamundi Hills and those heading to Madikeri use the road. The same people return to Bengaluru after a day’s trip.
Several traditional industrial units, factories, automobile showrooms and bottling units are located on Mysuru Road, which adds to the travelling traffic on the stretch from Bidadi to Mysuru Bank Circle.
