At Bunts Hostel Circle, traffic comes to a stop

Police blame ‘badly’ designed circle, absence of signal for chaos

12.30 p.m. Bunts Hostel Circle. There weren’t many vehicles but the traffic was not moving. A car registered in Udupi came down from Ambedkar (Jyothi) Circle, 50 metres away, and got caught in the jam. The woman behind the wheels was fidgeting but that’s all she could move. Like other motorists, she did managed to overtake a few bigger vehicles going but could not go far.

After some time, she dropped the idea of going towards Bunts Hostel Circle and took a right turn towards Balamatta and zipped away.

Nearly 3,500 vehicles move on this stretch per hour during peak hours in morning and evening. But 12.30 p.m. was not peak time. Traffic Police said irrespective of the hour, the traffic crawled on this road.

Apart from buses to Udupi and Kundapur, city buses to Mudipu, Shaktinagar and other routes ply on this road. The road is dotted with shopping complexes, hotels, a couple of hospitals and an electronic showroom.

The problem

Police attribute the problem to the heavy flow of buses that take turns at Bunts Hostel Circle, where the traffic lights do not work. The confusion over the free left given for the vehicles coming from Kadri side also adds to the chaos at the circle. Some drivers take the free-left lane and halfway through crosses to the lane for vehicles going towards Karangalpady. Buses coming from P.V.S. Circle or Jyothi Circle stop very close to the circle to pick passengers, slowing down the traffic.

A policeman at the circle said on Thursday the traffic was moving very slowing between noon and 3 p.m. because there were many marriages in the city. During school time, problem aggravated. A timekeeper for private buses at Bunts Hostel Circle, who did not wish to give his name, said buses had to be parked close to the circle as there was no other place was allotted.

Traffic Inspector (East) Mr. Nagaraj said not much could be done with the existing infrastructure. He said the road was expected to be widened when the stretch between Bunts Circle and Jyothi Circle was concreted. Road engineers should have design the circle better, he said. He said signals were expected to get automatic lights and he hoped this would ease the traffic situation to some extent.