BANGALORE: Sampige Road at Malleswaram is one among the busiest roads in the city. Three BMTC passes pass through this road in a minute. As many 10,000 cars and over 5,000 two-wheelers make their way into the already choked Sampige Road every hour.
The road, which was earlier the crown of Malleshwaram, in terms of good infrastructure and the most easiest commute points for vehicles, has now turned into a nightmare.
Troubled by the growing traffic worries in this area, the Malleswaram Resident Welfare Association (MRWA) approached the Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) M A Saleem with a well charted out plan.
“Beside Mantri Mall, facing the Rajiv Gandhi Statue Square, there is a dead land where a 100 feet road could be constructed to ease out the traffic problems on Sampige Road. This land, that lies between Mantri Mall and Jakkarayana Kere Ground belongs to the BBMP according to the Department of Land Records and Survey Settlement. If the BBMP is willing to solve the problems, they should ideally insist that Mantri Mall closes down their main entrance and uses this proposed 100-feet road to let traffic in from the rear side of the mall,” suggested Mulla Halli Suri, Member, MRWA.
According to their plan, closing down the main entry and exit points of Mantri Mall from Sampige Road side will help a few lakh people who commute through this road everyday.
“There is an old road on the rear side of the mall, adjacent to the Railway Line, that should be reopened. This has been encroached by the mall itself. Subedar Chatram Road should be extended so as to pass below the railway lane and join Okalipuram and Srirampuram,” said B R Gopal Rao, President of the MRWA.
If this simple engineering solution is considered seriously by both the Traffic Police and the BBMP, not only will this help vehicles coming from Vasanthnagar, Shivajinagar, Vidhana Soudha and Majestic, but also vehicles travelling from north Bangalore areas like Malleshwaram, Srirampuram, Gayathri Nagar, Subramanya Nagar, Mathikere towards Majestic, City Railway Station and City Market will be eased out, the MRWA claimed.