The Nuisance Caravan

The Nuisance Caravan
Deccan Herald

Car car car elnodi car... It seems that famous Director Nagathihalli Chandrashekar was inspired by J P Nagar III phase, I and II main double road for penning this popular number. For, here car-de karbaru.


Car car car elnodi car... It seems that famous Director Nagathihalli Chandrashekar was inspired by J P Nagar III phase, I and II main double road for penning this popular number. For, here car-de karbaru. The first and the last thing residents here see every morning and evening is cars and cabs. They occupy every inch of public space -- on the roads, pavements and even on culverts. According to a rough estimate, over 3,000 cars are parked at any given point of time on I and II main roads and connected 15 cross roads.

Courtesy: Dozens of BPO and software firms located on the other side of this narrow road. As parking facilities at these companies are inadequate, their employees have been forced park their vehicles wherever they see space in the locality.

Between I and II main roads is where the mini forest has been cultivated, which is about one km stretch and it acts as a border between J P Nagar residential area (on II main road) and Sarakki Small industrial zone (I main road). It is in the industrial zone where firms such as Infosys BPO arm Progeon, Potential and RMI Technologies are located. As these companies work round the clock, vehicles are parked 24 hours a day on these roads. Moving of cars and cabs is a common scene.


Interestingly, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy’s residence is also located on II main road. But none dare to park their vehicles in front of his residence -- perhaps due to the presence of police.

Residents on II main road are a harassed lot and all their efforts for the last several years to restore the lost peace has been in vain. Now the residents under J P Nagar III phase Resident Welfare Association banner have declared a war on the menace of vehicle parking in front of houses and on public places. They have become so desperate that at times they deflate tyres of cars parked in front of their houses. “We are contemplating taking legal course also,” Harsha Garudanagiri, a member of the association told Deccan Herald.

He said that due to clogging of the road facing these companies, all vehicles passing through the lane take the one facing residential houses. “The BPO employees have shattered our peace. With companies abdicating their responsibility to provide parking space, we are made to suffer,” the Association President Prabhuraj complained.

Association Secretary Govindraj said Infosys has been in the forefront criticising the state government for poor infrastructure. “When Infosys cannot provide parking facility at its premises, how can it talk about public infrastructure,”? he wondered.

This clash over parking space between companies and residents is not confined to J P Nagar III phase alone. Other residential localities such as BTM Layout off Bannerghatta Road, where BPO and IT companies have mushroomed, too are bearing the brunt.