BENGALURU: The Wind Tunnel Road in Ejipura (also called Ejipura Main Road), a narrow stretch that is congested by traffic from both sides, faces further problems because of alleged illegal operations of Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) buses.
Though the designated bus-stop created traffic bottlenecks even earlier, an illegal stop by some buses at the tri-junction only makes the situation worse.
Local residents alleged that the buses that are particularly responsible for the violation are 140-E and 141-E. These buses come from the Lower Agaram Road towards the Intermediate Ring Road that are connected by the Wind Tunnel Road. Instead of going all the way till the designated bus-stop, the buses stop at the tri-junction, let passengers out and wait till commuters fill up again before starting the return journey.
Anita (name changed), a drugstore keeper in the vicinity, said it has been happening for the last two months. “Most passengers here are devotees visiting the Sri Kodanda Rama Temple [near the traffic junction]. The buses let them out, and wait for passengers coming back from the temple,” she said. 10 am and 5.30 pm are the time when the buses disrupt traffic the most, she pointed out.
Even beyond the fact that buses take up most of the space on the road when parked, they completely throw traffic out of gear when taking a U-turn before their return journey. Frequently, more than one bus is seen parked in the area, while four-wheelers and autorickshaws use illegal parking in the area, painting a bleak picture of the pathetic traffic condition on the stretch.
GT Prabhakar Reddy, chief traffic manager (operation), BMTC, said he will forward these concerns to relevant officials and get them sorted out.