Bengaluru: Thursday evening turned out to be a nightmare for commuters at Whitefield as many were stuck for more than two hours. Techies returning home from ITPL and commuters from surrounding areas had to painfully wait as the entire stretch between HAL and Whitefield got jammed due to an obstruction caused by a crane between Siddapura and Ramagondanahalli.
The commuters wondered how this vehicle was permitted to ply on this road during peak hours.
Anupama K., a resident of Varthur Kodi said, “For a distance of around 5 kilometres from Marathahalli to Varthur Kodi, I was stuck on the road for two hours. The congestion was caused because a crane got stuck at the entrance of a newly developing property and obstructed the traffic flow. The traffic police officials were unable to move the crane. This particular incident took an additional of one hour of my travel time.”
Elaborating further, she said that she wanted to file a complaint with the police station, but was helpless as the whole situation was completely stuck giving no space for any swift action.
With ITPL in the vicinity, the roads connecting to Whitefield witnesses high traffic volume during peak hours. The crane’s obstruction resulted in blocking of vehicular movement, especially around Kundalahalli.
Effective social media alerts by the commuters who were stuck were successful in communicating about the jam to their peers. This resulted in saving a relatively proportionate number of commuters to alter their plans.
Pravir B., a resident of Whitefield said, “I was in bus while I received a timely alert about the congestion. Therefore, I got down at Marathahalli and through car pooling, I accompanied my fellow-mates heading towards Whitfield through alternate roads. Due to timely alerts, the travel time to my residence was the usual one hour.”
Normalcy was restored only after 9 pm. Whitefield Traffic Police maintained that a crane broke down near Siddapura resulting in traffic congestion. However, using another crane, the traffic officials cleared the vehicle to ease the block. When queried why a JCB was allowed during busy hours, they said that this was a small incident and it will be prevented in future.
