BENGALURU: After schoolchildren were stuck in traffic for over two-and-a-half hours on Varthur-Balagere Road and had to return home without attending school last week, authorities altered the ‘height limiter’ to prevent trucks from plying on the road. The flow of traffic has improved now, the residents said.
After the travails faced by children, residents held candle light protests, demanding that the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) cancel permission given for new constructions which have increased the movement of heavy trucks and tankers, causing traffic jams on the stretch.
“The work to reduce the height of the limiter was taken up around midnight on Friday. It has been brought down from 11 feet to 10 feet. Most school buses passed through the road on Monday. A few could not and they took an alternative route,” said Kavitha Raghuram, General Secretary, Mahadevapura Residents Welfare Association.
Clement Jayakumar, Secretary, Mahadevapura Task Force (Mobility), said the traffic police carried out the work as directed by area MLA Aravind Limbavali. “The barricade has been reduced in such a way that HTVs, like 10 wheel tippers and big tankers cannot pass through. We received positive feedback today. We will observe it on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and conclude if this simple intervention has been effective. This is only a short-term measure and the permanent solution would be to complete the land acquisition and create a wide and straight road,” he added.
Keshavamurthy, Assistant Sub-Inspector, Whitefield Traffic Police Station, who monitors traffic at Panathur Junction, said policemen are stressed here during peak hours as the road is narrow and traffic high. “Despite Monday being a busy day, we could see improvement. Nearly 85 per cent of school buses of 9 feet height easily passed through,” he added.
But a few other residents complained that bigger school buses now have to take a longer route. “No prior information was given and it led to a lot of inconvenience,” said Ashok Mruthyunjaya, AAP president, Mahadevpura.