Chaos rules roads in Kalasipalyam

Chaos rules roads in Kalasipalyam

Shwetha S



Kalasipalyam's bus stand and main market, lying close by, present a picture of chaos to any visitor. No wonder, pedestrians and motorists find it difficult to move about through this area.
For any bus that leaves the Kalasipalyam stand, it takes at least 20 to 25 minutes to move past the city market and reach the Mysore Road.
Although buses from across the state and other states arrive here in large numbers, there are no designated bus shelters for them. KSRTC and BMTC buses that arrive here halt in any place leaving the passengers confused. Many of these drivers halt their vehicles in the middle of the road blocking the movement of other buses. This leads to verbal exchanges among bus staff.
"I travel on this route every day. Drivers have an obsession. They never halt their vehicles at the designated stops. But whenever a passenger waves hand from any other point on the road side, they immediately stop the vehicle. During peak hours, such unscheduled stops lead to prolonged traffic snarls. It's frustrating as people may be heading for offices or their homes," says Nagesh Rao, a commuter.
As the bus station and the market are situated near by, pedestrian movement is heavy. But commuters do not have any pavements to walk on as they are all occupied by hawkers. They are hence forced to thread their way through a maze of vehicles, push carts, and vendors.
"To cross the road is indeed risky. But people don't have space on footpaths to walk safely. A month ago, as I was walking along the main road, a two-wheeler hit me. I suffered a sprain in my leg," says Meenakshamma, a flower seller.
"Every day, I come here at 7am. If I'm slightly late, I'll be trapped somewhere in the traffic jams. Many a time, we'd requested the police to drive away the hawkers from these pavements," a pedestrian said.
Autorickshaw drivers add to the chaos in Kalasipalyam as they occupy whatever space is left on the main road.
"We've very little space in front of our shops. As hawkers and autos obstruct movement, pedestrians and shoppers ignore us. Although business is dull, heated arguments with these hawkers and auto divers keep us busy every day. Twice, we complained to the traffic police and they chased them away. But as hawkers and auto drivers keep returning to their spot, police have lost interest and they remain passive now," K Lingaraju, a shopkeeper, said.
"It is a herculean task to permanently remove these hawkers and autos standing in front of the shops. We've warned them quite often. They vacate the area but return to the point after a few hours. We're fed up now," said a policeman.
"I'm aware of the problems here. We've built pavements on the sides of the roads but hawkers have occupied it. I've also informed the traffic police to clear them of hawkers. But soon after they are driven away, they come back. The problem will be resolved soon," said Y B Narayan, assistant executive engineer of the area. — Shwetha S