Huge traffic snarl on Old Madras Road

Huge traffic snarl on Old Madras Road

Senthalir S. Bangalore



Tuesday was a traumatic day for those travelling on Old Madras Road. Many were stranded for more than an hour, with vehicles moving at a snail's pace right from 8.30 am till late in the evening.
All credit for the snarl went to a broken pipeline and the Namma Metro work.
Ravi Subramanya, a frustrated motorist, said, "I left home by 10 am. I need to reach my office on MG Road by 11 am. But now, it's been more than half an hour and I'm still stranded in this chaos. I will be really late to work today."
A 27-inch water pipeline near the Indiranagar depot ruptured on Monday night. Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) officials were busy rectifying the fault, but in the bargain, it affected vehicular movement badly.
"The water pipeline broke on Monday night and water supply to areas like HAL, Indiranagar and Jeevan Bhima Nagar was affected on Tuesday. So we had to start work in the morning. It will take some time. We will finish the work by 6.30 pm," said a BWSSB contractor, who didn't want to be named.
The ongoing Metro work added to the woes of motorists, especially officegoers. "We find it difficult to travel on this road, especially during peak hours. There is relatively less traffic during off-peak hours. But today, it is a completely different scenario. I should have taken a different route," lamented Sai Priya, a motorist. She added that the BWSSB should have carried out the work in the night or during off-peak hours so that people are not put to inconvenience.
However, BWSSB chief engineer, Venkataraju said, "It is difficult to carry out work in the night as the visibility is low. We had to finish the work on Tuesday as there was water leakage."
At least four traffic police personnel were on duty on this stretch to manage the traffic flow. "We have been here since 7 in the morning. But the situation worsened only by 8.30 am and we are finding it difficult to handle such a jam," a traffic policeman said and added that since the road was narrow, it added to the woes of commuters. "Even if the BWSSB completes work by evening, they need to next fill up the hole with mud. It will take another two days for vehicles to be able to use that stretch of the road," he said.