BENGALURU: A sudden, sharp rise in traffic on Vatal Nagaraj Road in Rajajinagar has become a cause of concern for commuters of West Bengaluru. Not just the traffic police, even former Education Minister S Suresh Kumar was forced to stand on the congested stretch to manage traffic on Sunday and Monday.
Due to heavy rush at a recently opened mall, traffic snarls can be witnessed from the City Railway Station all the way up to Dr Rajkumar Road. Residents of Rajajinagar M Block are also worried as people park their vehicles at the rear of the mall, to avoid paying for parking. After receiving several complaints from locals, Kumar also took to social media to point out the traffic mess.
“Okalipuram and Vatal Nagaraj Road are prime locations for commuters and residents of West Bengaluru. The stretch is even more important because a portion of Race Road connecting Shivananda Circle is closed due to ongoing flyover works. Rain has only been making matters worse. The area is already a mess because of the snail-paced work at Okalipuram junction,” said Deependra J, a commuter.
However, the mall management said that as it is still very new, more people are walking in. “The situation will normalise in a couple of weeks,” they added.
Experts express doubt
An Urban Development Department official said, “The same issue happened with another mall in Malleswaram. There was no proper check on the carrying capacity of the location, the passenger car per unit (PCU) on the road and entry and exit points when the BBMP approved the building plans.”
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic-West) Kuldeep Kumar held a meeting with the mall management and other police officials on Monday and discussed a few small changes to ease the flow of traffic. He said, “We have suggested a change of the entry and exit points and putting up more boards and security guards on roads to ensure there is no roadside parking.
We are also requesting the BBMP to complete the underpass work at the earliest so that traffic movement is easier and commuters coming from Majestic are not inconvenienced.” BBMP Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta said that the matter will be investigated and if there is something wrong, it will be corrected immediately.