BENGALURU: Magadi Main Road has seen a rise in the number of daily commuters of late. Now with the razing down of the Agrahara Dasarahalli bus stop, the residents are struggling to cope with the increasing crowd of passengers who wait at Jai Muni Rao Circle.
The Circle has become an interchange stop for many BMTC bus travelers. People coming from Yellahanka and Yeshwanthpur side have to change here to go towards Magadi Road. People coming from Sumanahalli and Magadi have to change buses if they want to go towards Mysore Road or Yeshwanthpur, and this is where they have to switch buses.
The bus stand here was built twenty years ago, and is not used by anybody. It was recently razed to build a new one, but construction is yet to begin. Passengers are forced to wait on the road near the traffic signals of Muni Rao Circle.
Many BMTC buses, which come and go every 30 seconds or so, are not stopping at the designated bus stand, further adding to the chaos. Most commuters are students who are interchanging buses.
One student , Prithivka, who changes buses here to go to Yellahanka, says, “This is an everyday ordeal. The stop is too crowded and buses are stopping right on the road, which makes it dangerous for commuters.”
A class six student says, “I used to catch a bus here, but after looking at the chaos, I now walk to the next stop where I don’t have to struggle to catch a bus.”
The owner of an electronics shop near the stop says, “There are so many people at the bus stand that I sometimes I struggle to get into my own shop. During peak hour, my shop isn’t even visible to customers.”
Residents and shopkeepers have urged local corprators to move the bus stand further down towards the toll gate.
It is rare to find traffic police officers here to control the situation. Shivshankar, a traffic inspector, says, “Bus drivers should take extra precautions to stop their buses at the designated stop,” adding that they are doing their best to manage traffic here.
Shilpa Sridhar, Agrhara Dasarahalli ward corporator, says “ Earlier, the bus stand was old and damaged and no one wanted to use it. Now, we are building a new bus stand, and hope to clear the traffic congestion in the area.”