BENGALURU: The busiest stretch on National Highway 4, along Tumkuru Main Road, is nearly impossible to cross for nearly 8.5-km, from Nagasandra Metro Station to Peenya Metro Station. Vehicles speed through this highway and pedestrian-friendly crossings are at traffic signals that are placed kilometres apart — we took a ride and found the first after one km, the next after 2.3 km and the third after 3.5 km.
Residents of Nagasandra, Dasarahalli, Chokkasandra, Jalahalli and Peenya say that they find it tiresome to walk that many kilometres to find a safe crossing. So, often you can find them signaling a vehicle speeding through the highway to slow down and running across. This is risk to life and limb, ofcourse.
Traffic cops wash their hands off this and say that the responsibility — of exercising more care while crossing — lies with the people.
There are those who have even shifted away from this neighbourhood to avoid this daily hassle, like software engineer Rekha. She is pregnant and has moved from Vikas Nagar to Nagasandra to avoid crossing this road. "I can’t risk it along this busy stretch,” she says, adding, “I found it easier to simply shift home than dealing with this crossing every day".
City Express finds 75-year-old Sarojamma trying to signal vehicles to slow down. "I have to walk far if I don’t cross at this point, and I don't have the energy to cover such long distances,” she says. We wait with her and find that she could get across the road only after 15 minutes. "If I take an auto, it would be expensive because they have to go till the junction at Andrahalli Main Road and take a U-turn there,” she says. There have been minor accidents but regular users of this road like software engineer Ashruth brush it aside. He has seen people being hit while crossing this road. “It is a daily nightmare,” he says. “We don’t have another choice though, where is the underpass or skywalk?”
First-timers in shock
Ramappa, who has come to this stretch for the first time, found it impossible to get to the other side. " I wish I had known of this problem,” he says. “I am a senior citizen and this is indeed a big hurdle for me". He wishes that there was a sign that asked vehicles to slow down on this stretch of the highway.
Officials at Peenya Traffic Station peg it to pedestrian negligence. "People should go to the junctions, where this highway and the main roads meet, and cross there,” an official said, adding that people instead prefer “short cuts”across the highway. While residents say that there have been deaths from motor accidents along this stretch, police deny it.