City's bane: Excess baggage!

City's bane: Excess baggage!
40 lakh extra population, 17 lakh vehicles
Public transport remedy
Vijay Times

Bangalore: Consider these scenarios which occ daily: you get stuck in a massive traffic time you take your vehicle out during the hours; or diminished water supply that makes you wonder whether you are re stranded in a desert; or irregular power cuts which are major irritant whil watching your favourite programme on TV ; or looking for a house that fits your pocket cult, if not impossible, task.

Experts have said Bangaloreans should not be surprised this is happening as the City’s i structure is capable of catering to a maxim 35 lakh popuulation with eight lakh vehicle population. Compare this with the actual figures lakh population and 25.8 lakh vehicles.

Going by the figures, there is a vehicle for every third person in the City .

M N Sreehari, Chairman, T raffic Engineers an Safety T rainers ( TEST), points out to BDA’s proclamation that the City’s population would reach 90 lak by 2015.

"No number of new flyovers will solve the sis.....in fact it could result in more tra tion in crowded areas," he says. "One way to stop the increase in vehiclar population is to only 250 vehicles for two days a week inst regular 950 vehicles registered six days a week." Plans for greater Bangalore, on the lines of what Navi Mumbai is to Mumbai, have been mooted to decongest City’s population.

"A city that can be developed about 30 km away with an area of 40-50 sqkm radius and has potential of having about 40 lakh population scope for vertical expansion would be ideal altern tive," he says. It should have the necessar structure like metro/mono rail, inter-city port bus services.

BMTC MD , U pendra T ripathy , says external facto increase in traffic density has affected its roads are capable of handling just eight la over 24 lakh vehicles ply on them". He says a prac tion is to make people switch over to public trans plans to increase its fleet fleet to 4,444 buses b DCP T raffic (East) M A Saleem says the inc has affected free mo vement in central areas on registration of new vehicles: "It might may register their vehicles elsewhere and br "Effecting a hike in MV tax and making it mandato ers of new vehicles to sho w proof of park homes as in few South Asian nations might go long ease the problem.