Lingarajapuram flyover raises safety concerns

Lingarajapuram flyover raises safety concerns
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: Zipping over the Lingarajapuram flyover is the fastest short-cut to Hennur, and if you take a detour, to Kammanahalli and Jalvayu Vihar. A favourite route for vehicles, the day may not be far off when this becomes a death trap, particularly for students.

With three schools - St. Charles School, Nirmala School and The Association of People with Disability School - precariously positioned near the flyover, the road has become a nightmare for parents and teachers.

‘‘Crossing the road is almost impossible,’’ says Susheel, whose children study at St. Charles. ‘‘It is only a few days back that a police constable was posted here to help children cross the road,’’ he says.

Shekhar, a driver, says the speed with which vehicles descend the flyover is ‘‘scary...everyone is in a hurry around 8.30 a.m. Drivers rarely bother to watch out for children, who run blindly across the road.’’

‘‘Children who are handicapped have to wait for long as they cannot run across the road like the other students,’’ says Usha, principal of the school for the physically handicapped.

To add to the chaos, KSRTC bus drivers stop their vehicles right at the end of the flyover. Amid the honks and screeches of vehicles that pile up behind it, run students, rushing to reach school on time.

Sr. Susanne, principal of St. Charles, says, ‘‘There is an urgent need for a speed-breaker right where the flyover ends. That is the only way the speed of vehicles can be controlled. The bus stop needs to be shifted. We have posted four of our staff to help students cross the road.’’

Simmy D’Souza, one of the parents, says students who come on bicycles have to walk the entire length of road, go below the flyover and then enter the school. ‘‘If there was a overbridge, exclusively for students, chances of accidents could come down.’’

‘‘Earlier, physically challenged students were dropped within the school premises by a KSRTC mini bus. But this service was withdrawn after the flyover work was over. As a result, these students who walk with the help of crutches, have to walk almost half a kilometre to reach the school,’’ says Shiva Hiremath, vice-principal of the Association of People with Disability.

With no traffic signals at the Davis Road junction and chaotic traffic management, the lives of students are in jeopardy here.