Jammed Junctions: Malleswaram Circle

Green Malleswaram mauled by wheels
Deccan Herald

For Anil Kumar, who has been running his shop near Malleswaram Circle for the last 40 years, memories of the location’s cool environs with tree-lined avenues and the fragrance of sampige are hard to forget.

However, things have changed now. The aesthetically designed traffic island has long been demolished to make way for the burgeoning vehicular traffic. From one of the City’s secluded spots a few decades ago, Malleswaram Circle today has become the gateway to the Western and North Western parts of the City. The result: Maddening chaos and traffic snarls during peak hours.

The junction, around two kms from the Bangalore main bus and railway station, serves as the nearest link to the densely populated new residential, commercial and industrial areas of Bangalore West - the main reason for the exponential increase in traffic flow. Two main roads intersect at the junction - Sampige Road and Mahakavi Kuvempu Road.

Mofussil buses from the Bangalore outskirts ply via Malleswaram to reach K R Market and other parts of Central Bangalore adding to the traffic chaos.

Moreover, there are a number of intersections on Sampige Road disrupting smooth flow of traffic and also leading to accidents. The junction near Sampige theatre is particularly dangerous as the flow of traffic from Srirampuram sector is heavy during peak hours. Motorists trying to take shortcuts through the various bylanes just add to the congestion. Moreover, there are three BMTC bus stands very close to Malleswaram Circle.

There is little scope for road widening. The only way out - one-ways. Sampige Road, perhaps was one of the first four-lane roads in the City to be made one-way. The result of this experiment has been a new traffic bottleneck near Gitanjali Circle. The Pipeline Link Road, which serves as the parallel road to make up for the one-way on Sampige Road, is too narrow to accommodate the traffic.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic-West Division) M T Naik says: “Presently all KSRTC buses towards Mangalore, Hassan and Tumkur ply via Malleswaram. The construction of satellite KSRTC bus stations at Yeshwanthpur and Mysore Road will lessen the traffic flow towards the junction”.

POSSIBLE CURE

Construction of a grade separator.
Shifting the existing bus stands from Malleswaram Circle
Traffic diversion near Sampige junction and Gitanjali Circle.

USERS SPEAK

Parameshwara (advocate): Malleswaram still remains one of the green spots of the City. Road widening is ruled out as it will involve cutting down a large number of trees. The road linking Srirampuram and Sampige Road can be made one-way to reduce the traffic flow towards Malleswaram Circle.

Anil Kumar (Cloth merchant, resident of Malleswaram for the last forty years):
It is the increasing number of two wheelers that is causing the traffic snarls. An efficient public transport system will ease the problem. Metro rail should be of much help in this direction.

Manjunath (Entrepreneur): The traffic problem is only during peak hours between 9 am and 11 am and again from 6 pm to 8 pm in the evening. I commute regularly via Malleswaram Circle to reach my factory only to end up in traffic jams. Buses could be diverted during these hours.

Melkote Vairamudi (autodriver): Water logging is a major problem near Raja Mills leading to traffic jams and making the stretch between Sampige Road and Rajiv Gandhi Circle unmotorable every time it rains. Authorities should attend to the problem immediately.

Ronald Rodrigues (shopkeeper): A traffic police should man the Malleswaram Grounds - Margosa Road junction. The junction has become a death trap for pedestrians. Movement of heavy vehicles should be diveted from the junction during peak hours.