Road rage fights are routine on this short stretch of road, adjacent to Kurubarahalli Circle.Schools complain of disturbances and pedestrians of unruly vehicles, but traffic deparment says little can be done
BENGALURU: A 1.5 km stretch of road, in north-west city, has turned into a traffic nightmare. At least one fight from road rage breaks out here every day. Besides, business establishments are suffering losses and pedestrians are being run over by impatient vehicles.
Anyone who has to reach Outer Ring Road from Rajajinagar has to pass through the Kurubarahalli Circle in J C Nagar, which is intersection of Kurbarahalli Main Road and Pipeline Road. The alternative is through Magadi Road, which adds 8 km to the commute. But the Circle is where many lines of traffic from seven roads meet, and this is turning a 1.5 km stretch on Pipeline Road into a warzone.
Kalavathi, who has been living in the neighbourhood for nearly five years, says that traffic on the Pipeline Road has mutiplied over a short span of time. “It is now common to see fights break out between two wheeler riders, auto drivers and pedestrians,” she says.
The Pipeline Road, which runs along a grassy park, is about 10 feet wide and takes traffic from both ORR and Chord Road. This small stretch also absorbs traffic from another bottleneck, 50 metres away, at a junction where vehicles coming from J C Nagar, Kaveri Nagar and Geleyarabalaga Circle meet. Schools, colleges and commercial establisments have come up here in recent past, and private vehicles wait at the bus stop nearby. Therefore, the BMTC buses are forced to stop at the already crowded junction adjacent to the Circle. Nagendra Mishra has been running a medical shop for the last 15 years here. He says traffic density has been growing by the day, and there is no help from the traffic department. “Sometimes there is a jam that lasts for more than an hour and there are no cops to clear it,” he says. Officials at the traffic department say that they are short-staffed and therefore plan to make do with No Parking boards.
These days people are stepping up and playing traffic wardens. Shivalinga, an auto driver, says that he has had to do that many times. “If I take my auto to other areas I can make `100 more, because I won’t be held up in this jam as long,” he says. “In my area, I hardly make `25.” Frustrated, he has stopped taking trips to Kurubarahalli Circle.
Educational institutions around the circle have registered their complaint with the traffic department, but little has changed. Angela Rozario, a teacher at a nursing college, says that noise pollution from the road is making learning impossible. “My students and I are not able to concentrate on classes because every now and then a minor altercation happens on the road, and that leads to more honking,” she says.
Pedestrians brave accidents and few like 85-year-old Shivshankar Iyer would avoid this stretch at ‘any cost’. “I was trying to cross that road recently and two erratic bikers ran into me, and I suffered minor injuries,” he says.
‘Flyover planned,awaiting funds’
The local representatives promise flyovers and underpasses, but are not sure by when they will be built. K Gopalaiah, MLA of Mahalaxmi Layout, says, “We are planning to build flyover which connects Rajajinagar to Outer Ring Road, the feasibility study has been done and we are waiting for funds... The flyover will decongest the Circle and help surrounding areas as well”. M Shivaraju, Corporator of Ward 75, says that there two underpasses and one flyover planned to clear up the Circle. He agrees that the junction needs traffic cops to man it, and says that his office has sent that request to the Traffic Department.
Traffic dept to put up ‘No Parking’ Boards
A service lane that goes off Pipeline Road comes under Rajajinagar traffic station’s jurdsiction, while the main Pipeline Road falls under Vijayanagar station’s jurisdiction. A senior police officer says that they are short of staff but are trying to clear the traffic “as much as possible”. On the service road, they are planning to put up “No Parking” signboards. Prakash Achar P says “Traffic Jams are unavoidable here but traffic police presence would make traffic move smoothly. When spoke to Senior traffic police “ We are putting ‘no parking’ boards on pipe line stretch”. Since junctions lacks traffic signals residents feel there is need of one.