Chaos on the road

Chaos on the road
DH News Service, Bangalore:
Two days ahead of the commissioning of the Bengaluru International Airport in Devanahalli, the only major link road leading to the airport was blocked for hours as motorists tried their best to wade through a water logged arterial road.

This, even as the Bruhat Bangalore Maha-nagara Palike threw open for traffic the surface pass at the BDA junction on Wednesday evening.

Motorists passing through the surface pass were stuck for hours as the Cauvery junction under-pass ahead was water-logged. Traffic came to a standstill following rains, disputing tall claims made by BBMP officials that the “magic-box” underpass could withstand any amount of rain. As a result traffic piled up on all roads in the neighbourhood and traffic police and BBMP officials had a tough time diverting the chaotic traffic from 5 pm to 8 pm.

Traffic crawled right from Cubbon Road up to Mekhri Circle on one side and from Bashyam Circle towards Raj Bhavan on the other side. Several cars and autorickshaws got stuck in the water and had to be literally pushed through it. Though BBMP workers tried their best to clear the blocked inlet beneath the underpass, there was no respite for motorists.

Engines of several vehicles suffered damages as the muddy rain water reached up to the windows of the four-wheelers stuck in the underpass. Two autorickshaws and one car were stranded for almost an hour in the water.

BBMP Chief Engineer (Major Roads) K S Krishna Reddy and Technical Advisor R Jaiprasad, who doubled up as pointsmen diverting traffic, said the inlet of the drain below the underpass had clogged resulting in the accumulation of water. “We are getting the inlet cleared and water will subside soon,” Reddy said.

Though the authorities had allowed two-way traffic, it was a nightmare for motorists, especially for those going from Raj Bhavan side towards Mekhri Circle.