No place for pedestrians on K.R. Puram bridge

No place for pedestrians on K.R. Puram bridge

The Hindu

Region's first cable-stayed overbridge defeats the purpose of its construction; people find it difficult to cross road

# The six-lane overbridge is about 230 meters long
# Traffic jams worst during the peak hours
# There are no manned pedestrian crossings or those with signals
# Buses and maxicabs do not stop at the bus stop
# Pedestrian-controlled signal light to be installed soon



RISKY ROAD: People waiting to cross Old Madras Road at K.R. Puram Railway Bridge in Bangalore on Tuesday. — Photo: K. Murali Kumar

BANGALORE: Krishnarajapuram is proud of having the region's first cable-stayed railway overbridge, inaugurated by the then Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2003.

The six-lane overbridge, which took a decade to be built, is about 230 meters long. It was planned for high density traffic around the area as it is part of the highway towards Chittoor, Ranipet and Chennai.

Traffic snarls at the approaches to the bridge defeat the very purpose of its construction.

"Traffic jams are worst during the peak hours and even the traffic police are not always present to regulate vehicular movement near the railway station. Since pedestrians have to cross the road to board a bus, the absence of traffic signals adds to the problem," said Sudhakar, an autorickshaw driver. There are no manned pedestrian crossings or those with signals close by.

Nirupa, a student of BMS College, said: "Buses and maxicabs do not stop at the bus stop, instead they stop near the railway station causing traffic jams; we find it difficult to reach our college on time." The traffic police say that two traffic personnel work on shifts from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day near the bridge and even they found it difficult to manage the high density traffic.

"Though the overbridge is complete, the problem still persists and we have a tough time shouting at bus drivers asking them to stop the buses at the bus stop and not anywhere else," they said.

The situation is worse near the India Tin Factory, where the overbridge starts. It is a very busy area since the number of people travelling to the city from Kolar district has increased over the years after the closure of KGF. Many heavy trailer trucks, and other heavy vehicles take this route.

"After dark, we find it difficult to reach the other side of the road as we have to cross four roads and there is no proper lighting," said Shivalingam, who commutes daily by bus to the city.

Blaming the improper planning of the suburb, Aruna, an engineer, said traffic should be managed properly by deploying more police personnel and the metro rail should come up soon. "The petrol station near the bus stop adds to the traffic jam as there is no proper space for vehicles," she added.

Asked about traffic management around the bridge, M.A. Salim, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Traffic, East Zone, said: "A pedestrian-controlled signal light will be placed between the railway overbridge and Bennaganahalli flyover and an order for installing the control light has already been placed with Bharat Electronics Limited."