Bellandur junction turns chaotic

Bellandur junction turns chaotic

Shilpa CB. Bangalore



It's going to be a tough commute through the Bellandur Outer Ring Road for the next few months. Fresh barricades put up for the construction of the Bellandur flyover near Ecospace Business Park covers almost half the main carriageway, creating a bottleneck.
The absence of proper boards alerting diversion of light vehicles into the service road is already impeding movement here.
On Tuesday morning, it took Girish Kurudi, an employee of a company in Ecospace, double the usual 45-minute travel to office. Kurudi was aware of the changes in traffic movement but did not expect the shoddy work by contractors to delay him so much, he says.
More than a lakh vehicles ply on this road every day. Even minor jams tend to affect traffic flow at places as far as Sarjapur Road, Marathahalli and Old Airport Road.
This is why projects that are likely to hamper vehicular movement have to be planned well, says Viswanath Seetharam, general secretary, Outer Ring Road Companies' Association (ORRCA).
The ORRCA gave the clearance for the work only after contractors promised to fill potholes, put up sign boards and assigned home guards. "But when I arrived this morning, confusion was reigning supreme," says Viswanath, adding that the contractor was playing truant.
Prabhuswamy C, the contractor enlisted to construct the flyover, defends himself stating that "home guards are not my responsibility".
He says the sign boards are ready; but, they are few and far between, and cannot be read in the night.
While the contractor is confident of expediting work, Seetharam and BDA's site engineer insist that the traffic police will not allow him to proceed unless they are satisfied with measures taken to facilitate traffic movement.
"We have given strict instructions that unless all steps are taken, construction work should not begin," says Venkatesh T, traffic police inspector attached to the Madiwala police station.
As engineers, traffic policemen, and guards mull over what next, the commuter is already up against a barricade that is here to stay for the next 18 months or more — the estimated time required for completion.