Bengaluru: Last week, when a 27-year-old biker on his way to office was found lying in a pool of blood on the busy national highway in Peenya (NH4), for many onlookers and residents in the locality, the sight was far from surprising. For death lurks around the busy junctions of Laggere, Nagasandra and Hesarghatta.
According to traffic cop Raju, attached to Peenya traffic police station, the area sees up to 60 accidents annually including those which go unregistered in police records.
“At least 30 complaints of a serious nature are registered with us, while pedestrians and motorists sustaining minor injuries don’t get recorded. Usually, national highways are prone to accidents, but this area is dangerous as many residential layouts are located in the vicinity,” he said.
Mr Raju said that the peak hours were the worst, when hundreds of workers returning from offices and factories tried to cross the main road in large groups.
“Some pedestrians try to cross the road even when there’s a green signal for motorists and if vehicles are speeding, someone is injured in the melee. The road opposite to Dr Rajkumar Samadhi has become the new ‘black spot’ or accident-prone zone,” he added.
Mr Raju said that since the flyover and Metro track run along the highway, there wasn’t sufficient space to install a sky walk on the highway. “However, an underpass is the need of the hour and a proposal has been sent to the state government. But there has been no action yet,” he added.
Meanwhile, the residents have demanded that a skywalk be constructed, at least where there is availability of space. “We do not even have footpaths though it’s a highway. As a result, pedestrians are forced to walk on the main road.
The service roads are busier than the main road with vehicles speeding from all directions. We are only requesting the government to construct a skywalk, though an underpass or a subway would be highly helpful,” said Subhash, a resident of Nagasandra.
He did mention that despite submitting memorandums to the BDA, BMRCL and Union Urban Development department, no action was taken.
