The Malleswaram Residents' Association has urged the civic authorities to construct a new 100-ft road linking Subedar Chatram Road and Okalipuram-Sriramapuram Road on the Jakkarayanakere land to ease traffic congestion on Sampige Road.
The road connecting the junction of Seshadripuram 1st Main and Subedar Chatram Road is named S.K. Venkataranga Iyengar Road. But old habits die hard and people still call it Subedar Chatram Road.
Submitting a traffic plan with a map to the Bangalore Traffic Police here on Thursday, the association said the life of over 25 lakh residents of north Bangalore has been affected after the construction of Mantri Square on Sampige Road. In what was once a quiet residential area, massive traffic jams are an everyday occurrence after one of the biggest malls in the city, Mantri Square, opened.
Road encroached
The proposed road will pass through Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) land and will connect the existing City Railway and Central Bus Stand Road to the West of the Tumkur Railway line. This road, the association alleged, has been encroached upon by the Mantris and the Survey of India has confirmed the encroachment.
The proposal recommends an underpass below the railway line for further access to Okalipuram-Sriramapuram Road, association president B.R. Gopal Rao said. He added that the proposed road will not be very expensive for the BBMP as it is through its own property.
After construction of the road, the traffic police should streamline vehicle movement to ease the congestion on Sampige Road. All entries and exits of Mantri Square facing Sampige Road should be closed and should be shifted to face the new road. The new road should have safe and signalled pedestrian crossings for visitors to Mantri Square.
The new road would be of much help for vehicles from Vasanthnagar, Shivajinagar and Majestic towards Rajajinagar, Malleswaram, Mathikere and surrounding areas. People need not take Sampige Road but can go on the Railway Parallel Road (West). BMTC bus stops in front of the Nataraj theatre should be shifted in front of Hotel Swathi for Majestic-bound buses and in front of BBMP (West) Office on Sampige Road for buses headed towards northern parts of Bangalore.
Other agencies
Mr. Rao told The Hindu the association has submitted similar plans to BBMP and other agencies concerned and was hopeful of them acting in unison towards alleviating road users' and residents' woes. Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic), M. Abdulla Saleem, who received the plan, said the proposal requires deliberations with the BBMP and other agencies. A suitable decision would be arrived at thereafter, he said.
