BANGALORE: Bangalore is no stranger a city to traffic. While most residents are urged to take public transport, even this exercise might prove to be futile if the upsurge of vehicles on roads in not brought under control. Sample the junction at Jalahalli Cross.
Jalahalli Cross is in dire need for an underpass. Some commuters Expresso spoke to, voiced that the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Pallike (BBMP) should focus on constructing underpasses in places like these. “An underpass in Basavanagudi was absolutely unnecessary. It would help us a lot if we have an underpass here,” said Devakishor, a travel planner.
The exceedingly busy circle at Jalahalli Cross has proven to be a nightmare for pedestrians, who literally pledge their lives in the hands of zooming vehicles while crossing the roads. Ravi Kumar, an auto rickshaw driver who regularly plies here said, “This is a hotspot for road accidents. This is mainly due to an absence of an underpass for pedestrians.” He informed that there was a severe accident here a couple of weeks ago.
The junction here consists of four lanes, one with service roads, which is supposed to reduce traffic congestion. However, owing to poor planning, one of the lanes is narrow making traffic congestion inevitable at any time of the day. From a commuter’s perspective, the inflow of BMTC buses here are abundant. Adding to the large numbers of BMTC buses are privately run buses. The problem arising here is that there is no clear separation of BMTC bus stops, and for the private buses. This adds to the confusion. “BMTC and private buses do not stop at their designated stops. They either stop further or behind. Hence, we also move back and forth accordingly,” said Das, a regular commuter.
Traffic police officers posted here are often idle. When Expresso spoke with two constables here, they alleged that they were helpless as people are not careful while crossing. “Traffic is a problem here. The best we can do is to direct people to wait for buses at the designated bus stops,” said a traffic policeman. He concurred to the need of an underpass here to benefit pedestrians.
Amid such frenzy, the only unanimous call that the people want addressed by the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike is the need for an underpass at Jalahalli Cross.