JOIN USThe road upgrade works in parts of the city, taken up simultaneously by Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) and Public Works Department (PWD), has not only hit the traffic but is irking residents and tourists.
It has become a nightmare for motorists as they are not able to reach their destination on time. Many people spend nearly 50 per cent more time than usual, owing to increased traffic.
Some people have started to ride two-wheelers instead of driving their cars. Prakash, who works for a private firm, commutes from Vijaynagar to Double Road. He says, “It would hardly take 20 minutes to reach my workplace in my car. But, now it takes me nearly half an hour. Not only driving, it has also become difficult to park my vehicle.”
Not only motorists, even those who depend on public transport, especially long-route bus passengers, are also facing the heat. The KSRTC city services are getting delayed by 15-20 minutes. Also, they cannot reach all their stops. The problem with long-route buses has aggravated.
KSRTC, In-charge Divisional Traffic Officer (urban) H D Dinesh Kumar said often the buses reach the stand little late and people are complaining. The long-route buses need to take many diversions to reach the main road or highways. The City Police have diverted traffic and have asked the KSRTC to take diverted routes, sources in the KSRTC said.
As Chamaraja Double Road has been blocked for over a month, buses and heavy vehicles have to ply on Sayyaji Rao Road and Agrahara Circle, which causes heavy traffic jam at the Agrahara Circle. Five roads, from different locations, converge at the circle. During evening hours, it is horrible to cross the circle, said Dananjay, a motorist.
However, some residents said that they had to tolerate the troubles for the sake of development work. Luckily, the government has come forward to upgrade the major roads. “When the authorities have come forward to take up big works, we need to cooperate with them,” says ventriloquist Suma Rajkumar, who resides next to the Chamaraja Double Road.
“The authorities are working day and night and they should complete the works as soon as possible for people’s convenience. During weekends and long holidays, people from Bengaluru come to Mysuru to spend peaceful time and love the traffic, here. But, in recent days, the city is turning similar to Bengaluru. The city should remain as it was,” she says.
The busy roads leading to important places in the heart of the city are blocked for undergoing works. The authorities have blocked the Chamaraja Double Road, Sita Vilas Road, Jayanagar under bridge and other major places. Due to works, traffic density on New Sayyaji Rao Road, Vani Vilas Road, Jhansi Lakshmi Bai Road, Krishna Vilas Road, and Irwin Road have increased drastically.