Bengaluru: Traffic jams are a part of life in Bengaluru. However at K.R. Puram junction, which provides the vital link to the Whitefield IT corridor, the problem is so acute that traffic jams last till 11 pm on working days.
As the road curves from Ramamurthy Nagar towards the hanging bridge, traffic movement slows down. And as one takes the slip road towards K.R. Puram police station, it gets reduced to a crawl.
Irrespective of whether it is a peak hour or not, the road is always jammed with long lines of vehicles trying to negotiate the stretch. Syed, who owns a shop in the area, said, “The traffic is maddening and there is always a rush. Besides people using the road to go to Kolar or Chennai, always wait by the side of the road adding to the chaos.”
That is not the only problem. The railway station situated at the junction on the other side has many autos and cabs parked outside, which also affects traffic flow. Akram, who owns a provision store, said, “The rush is crazy. On one side there are people waiting to board buses going towards Chennai. On the other side there are railway commuters. And the road is extremely narrow to handle such traffic.”
Anup Kumar, who works in an IT firm and uses the road every day said, “It is always crowded at K.R. Puram junction. I lose 20 minutes every day just waiting trying to get on the other side.”
K.R. Puram Traffic Inspector Mahesh said, “There is a bottleneck near the K.R. Puram railway station. Lots of vehicles park there. A little further there is another bottleneck. The best solution to ease traffic would be to have an underpass.”
With lots of techies traversing the route and passengers to Chennai using it, the K.R. Puram junction requires an urgent fix.
As per the revised master plan for Bengaluru 2031, the Bengaluru Development Authority has suggested adding three flyovers, an underpass and an intermodal interchange hub with three levels at the K.R. Puram Railway Station. For those using this junction can only hope this becomes a reality soon.
Steps taken to vacate stay on steel flyover: George
Bangalore Development Minister K.J. George on Tuesday said that measures have been taken to get the stay vacated on the controversial steel flyover.
After inaugurating a skywalk with escalator opposite Embassy Manyata Business Park on Outer Ring Road at Nagawara junction, he said, “Those who travel via HAL airport do not know the traffic hardships faced by those who travel via BIAL. That's the reason why they are speaking without understanding the problems of the people who commute to BIAL.”
He was referring to members of Namma Bengaluru Foundation and Citizens for Bengaluru, which are leading the protest against the flyover. On the measures being taken by the government to ease traffic in the city, he said, “Metro train has been extended up to Nagawara. The government is contemplating to run suburban trains from to Kengeri, Whitefield and Hoskote.” ll be built from Tumakuru Road, he said.
Escalator skywalk
A skywalk with an escalator has been built at a cost of '6.8 crore opposite Embassy Manyata Business Park.
