Cross this point at your own risk

Cross this point at your own risk

Without a subway, chances of accidents are more at Yeshwantpur railway station

Shwetha S. Bangalore



Two pedestrians were run over by vehicles this month as they were crossing the highway at Yeshwantpur railway station.
A subway could have averted their deaths. Many more may die if the civic authorities delay their plans for an underpass across the highway connecting the station with the nearby bus stop.
Passengers face grave risk as they cross the highway with luggage to the bus stop. Others, heading towards the station, blindly run across the road so as not to miss the train. About 13,000 passengers use the station every day.
Station manager Kumar agreed that passengers faced risk while crossing the road.
"Since it is NH4, vehicles go at high speed. The risk factor is more for those carrying luggage. Passengers arriving at the station need a safe and easy passage like the subway at Bangalore city station," he said.
Although Yeshwantpur is the second terminal point after Bangalore city station, it does not have many exits. A stone wall runs all the way up to the main gate forcing many passengers to take a short cut by scaling the wall.
Railway passenger Shivaram T said, "I come to the station from Basaveshwanagar. There is always chaos as road medians block our quick access to the station. So we have to go half a kilometer further and take a U-turn to reach the station. Most of the time, we get stuck in traffic. Twice I missed my train because of this."
Abhishek Tripati , another passenger said, "It's difficult to cross the road with baggage to reach the bus stop. Vehicles move fast and it's too risky."
Kumar said passengers coming from Rajajinagar, Navarang, Vijaynagar, and Majestic keep complaining about the additional stretch they have to walk because of the U-turn.
"We have given a proposal to the BBMP to make some arrangements like a flyover to reduce the road chaos," he said.
But a BBMP official said they had not received any proposal for a subway or flyover from the railway authorities. Jayaprasad, technical adviser of BBMP said, "We are aware of the problem faced by rail passengers. Till now, we have not received any proposal from the railway officials. But we have plans to build a subway near the station.
"We are building a flyover too, and the project has already started. Once this comes, the traffic will be diverted. This will help passengers reach the station without delay."
MR Srinivas, one of the commuters using the road, said, "I take this route every day as my factory is located in Peenya. There is always traffic jam near Yeshwantpur bus stop as rail passengers keep crossing the road slowly with their luggage."
AV Ravishankar, a bank employee, said, "There is a bus stop located near Govardhan theatre. But none of the buses stop there. BMTC and private buses stop on the main road. Railway passengers keep crossing the road without any concern for people like us behind the wheel. Because of this, I get stuck here for nearly half an hour in the mornings and evenings." s_shwetha@dnaindia.net