Bengaluru: Keep a Monday date with Minsk Square; Cubbon Road to be reopened
Bengaluru: The chaos on M G Road, where traffic congestion blocks commuters daily for a good 30 minutes on a weekday, is all set to end by this weekend. Starting Monday, the traffic police are planning to reopen Cubbon Road to traffic.
The stretch of Cubbon Road, between BRV Junction and Minsk Square, has been shut for more than four years, as against the deadline of 2.5 years given by the Metro authorities. It is now getting ready for traffic.
The Metro authorities have taken up asphalting work around Minsk Square, which is now barricaded to facilitate the underground Metro work in the area. This means, at least 40% of the congestion at M G Road, Brigade Road junction, Anil Kumble Junction and the Queen’s statue junction will be reduced as the vehicles coming from east Bengaluru and going towards the other parts need not get stuck on M G Road and they can straight away move on Cubbon Road.
“Our first priority is to open the road for traffic as the M G Road and some junctions attached to M G Road have been experiencing heavy traffic snarls for a few years after the Cubbon Road was closed to traffic. Cubbon Road has always served as an alternative for M G Road, for the vehicles which want to commute from the eastern parts of the city, such as Ulsoor and Indiranagar and proceed towards the northern parts of the city, including the international airport.
“The reopening of Cubbon Road will automatically reduce the traffic pressure on M G Road,” points out Mr M A Saleem, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic).
However, this new arrangement comes at a price. Motorists will search in vain for the purple jacaranda trees which used to welcome them. Nor will there be the usual familiar model of a fighter plane or the soldier’s statue, which was shifted to National Military Memorial at High Grounds. “For many years the Minsk Square has been considered an integral part of Cubbon Park. Hence it was always maintained with greenery similar to the next junction – Queen’s statue. However, now it is uncertain whether the Metro authorities and the BBMP will try restoring the old face of Minsk Square.
It’s what everyone seems to want. “When the boulevard of M G Road can be recreated, why not bring the green back to Minsk Square?” asks a civic expert.
Mr Saleem said that the Metro authorities will also establish a signal at Minsk Square as well as on the Gopal Gowda Circle. “Both these points have been shut for traffic for a longer period. We shall open the road in the next three days and after that the Metro authorities have informed that the signal light system will be restored at both these points,” the officer concluded.
