The commute for those taking the Outer Ring Road (ORR) on Tuesday became a dreadful affair. With waterlogged underpasses, blocked service roads and the presence of thousands of vehicles on the road, the travel took away much of the joy of the rains the previous evening, commuters say.
“There was a jam from the Mahadevapura bridge till Karthik Nagar bridge. It took me one-and-half hours to reach Kadubeesanahalli from K.R. Puram. I took a private bus, which moves on the service road where traffic flow is a little faster,” said Praveen Kumar M.V., a commuter.
Amidst this confusion, a helpless traffic police came up with an innovative solution to remove water. “The blockage on the road near the railway crossing was due to cotton and chicken parts. We approached the Fire Department to pump out water at Marathahalli, as the BBMP is not willing to take the responsibility claiming that documentation by the BDA for handing over ORR to the civic body is not yet complete,” said a senior police officer.
The BBMP last year asked the BDA to hand over ORR for maintenance stating that a lot of debris and garbage are being dumped there. However, it seems that little action has been taken on the ground. BBMP and BDA officials could not be reached for comment.
The road from K.R. Puram to Central Silk Board passes through a lot of problem areas, including Doddanekkundi Underpass and Karthik Nagar Underpass, almost all of which were flooded after the rains.
“Earlier, heavy rain would cause such issues. This year, we encountered water logging after just three spells of rains. Drains were clogged. After the service road near Alpine Eco was tarred, all the water flows into the ORR and accumulates at the underpass,” said Clement C., a member of activist group Whitefield Rising who lives near Doddanekkundi.
It took me 3 hours to reach Kadubeesanahalli from K.R. Puram railway station. Whenever it rains, the Karthik Nagar underpass is flooded
Srinivasa N.,
Market analyst
