Old Madras Road turns hell

Old Madras Road turns hell
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: Traffic on Old Madras Road during peak hours barely crawls. The cause for this exasperating situation is the motorists themselves who are in a hurry.

In trying to outdo every other road user, two-wheelers, trucks, buses and cars throw all discipline by the roadside and get into a jam of their own making.

The road turns into a virtual one-way, with office-goers even driving on the far right of the road blocking oncoming traffic and stopping traffic dead in its tracks.

Work on widening the road which has not ended even after eight months, only adds to the peak hour pain.

Lack of a median and rampant construction activity on both sides completes the chaotic picture. Police have no clue how to control the situation.

Shajin, a condiment shop owner said that it’s the same scene every morning and evening. Vehicles in a mad rush push pedestrians off the road.

‘‘The narrow railway overbridge near K.R. Puram is the main cause for the jam. Vehicles travel in single file here. Bus stops on either side of the road are directly opposite each other and if buses halt at the same time on both sides, vehicles behind them can’t go around them,’’ said Shajin.

Every morning construction workers load their machinery at the tempo stand near Benniganahalli at peak hours.

People also blame Chandragiri Construction Company (CCC), the tender holder, working on the project from Byappanahalli to Bhattarahalli (near KR Puram), for the chaos.

Santosh, a garage owner near Byappanahalli told this website’s newspaper that the widening work is going at a very slow pace.

‘‘Labourers work for 10 days and disappear for a week and resume work somewhere else. It’s chaotic.’’ Company officials at the K.R. Puram works however promised that the work would be completed in the next three months.

Police said that after the completion of road widening work, traffic would be under control.

‘‘We are doing our best to maintain discipline, but we are helpless as most motorists do not follow lanes and rush down the other side of the road disrupting smooth flow,’’ said a traffic policeman.

Residents are also concerned about the dust getting into their houses causing allergies. They want the widening work completed before monsoon.