All it takes is one bus.....

Traffic piles up on Residency Road and Richmond Circle flyover after a BMTC bus broke down near the Cash Pharmacy junction on Saturday morning.

Bus breaks down, blues begin
1-Hour Wait At Residency Road-St Marks Junction
Times of India

Many cricket fans, shoppers and office-goers were left stranded for over an hour on Residency Road-St Marks Road as traffic piled up in and around the Cash Pharmacy junction on Saturday morning.

The problem at the junction, happening not for the first time, escalated after a BMTC bus broke down near the Cash Pharmacy on St Marks Road. The bus broke down around 10.30 am and within minutes, surrounding roads were chock-a-block with traffic.

The situation got worse as motorists from Residency Road and St Marks Road made a beeline to cram through the narrow space. Traffic was already heavy on St Marks Road due to the rush towards Chinnaswamy cricket stadium. There was no respite for the harried motorists as a towing vehicle could not reach the hotspot for a long time. “Even emergency service vehicles like ambulances were stuck,’’ said an upset motorist caught in the jam on Convent Road.

The bottleneck stretched to Richmond Circle, the flyover, the junction of Museum Road and Residency Road, Convent Road, Hayes Road and Vittal Mallya Road. In an attempt to ease the situation, traffic police switched off the signals and began to divert vehicles away from the crammed roads. Constables diverted traffic on to Lalbagh Road and Richmond Road to avoid further jams. Nearly half an hour later, traffic began to move at a snail’s pace.

Over an hour later, the BMTC bus was towed away from the junction. But that improved the traffic situation only slightly. The roads remained busy till late on Saturday night.