BENGALURU: While Indiranagar can’t get sleep until 2am over noise pollution caused by pubs, Malleswaram and Koramangala too doesn’t seem to catch a shut until late in the night, courtesy traffic noises.In Koramangala, other than the pubs, residents blame traffic constables over sleepless nights. The traffic that comes from HSR Layout and Indiranagar is pushed onto the interior roads by traffic police in Koramangala to avoid congestion on the main road. “The traffic police is doing this actively in Koramangala 3rd Block,” says Nitin Seshadri, who lives in the area. So, those who should have ideally taken the Sarjapur Road are seen taking the inroads that run through residential areas causing noise pollution. “Even online maps that show the shortest distance based on time directs vehicles to the inroads. The traffic noises start around 6.30pm and goes on till 11pm,” says Nitin.
The Resident Welfare Association in the area even put up a height barrier for tempo traveller by pooling in money from residents, but the bars were vandalised the very next day. “After the fourth time, we gave up on putting up barriers,” says a resident.“The traffic has increased about 20 folds owing to the new restaurants and companies,” says Malleshwaram resident VN Ramaswami. Residents say they hear honking noises until midnight.
In Jayanagar, the traffic noises are restricted to the arterial road, says CN Kumar, a resident.
A few inroads in Malleshwaram connect to Rajajinagar and Subramania Puram, hence heavy traffic prevails in the residential areas, informs Ramaswami. “It has been difficult to find sound sleep,” he says.
He says that the positioning of Mantri Mall is one of the major reason behind heavy traffic jam. “The mall is situated near a bottleneck area. I don’t know why a place a mall there. Urban planning should be more responsible,” he says.
On Lavelle Road, it is the early morning and 12 to 3pm school traffic that contributes to the noise pollution in the area that is already high owing to a new 20-storeyed commercial building raised on the stretch that has attracts the evening office traffic noises, says Sunita Kumar, a resident. She says that the taxi drivers who park on either side of the road near UB City too contribute to the noise pollution.
“On Lavelle Road, they park on pavements. Uber and Ola do not have a proper customer service to complain about how their drivers park vehicles on the stretch,” laments Sunita, who adds that residents have been consistently troubled by the open air pubs that blast music with utter disregard to the houses closeby.