Residents of Trinity Enclave on Old Madras Road, who were playing a game of badminton on Sunday evening, rushed out on hearing a crash to see a woman on a two-wheeler lying flat on the road. She had driven into one of the several big heaps of earth dumped by the median near Big Bazaar on this congested road.
Even as traffic whizzed passed her, the injured woman was given first aid by the residents. “She was too dazed to speak but luckily her cellphone rang and the person at the other end was her husband. They were from Pai Layout and she was taken to a hospital by her family,” said P. Janaradhanan, a member of the building's association.
“It was waiting to happen,” fumed Arka R., another resident. “The BBMP planted saplings on the median and dumped loads of earth on the road. They finished their gardening and simply left, complicating traffic movement even more.”
Daily nightmare
For regulars this arterial road is a nightmare from the old Philips building and the K.R. Puram Railway Bridge. Parts of the road, particularly the stretch skirting the BDA Complex, are riddled with pot-holes which slow down traffic. “My heart is always in my mouth when overloaded buses and lorries sway dangerously over those deep pot-holes past me when I drive to work,” said Bharathi M., a resident of C.V. Raman Nagar.
Bad roads, footpath encroachment, too many traffic lights that are not synchronised, not enough traffic police, aggression by drivers flouting rules, illegal parking and Namma Metro work have together made it tough for motorists.
The City Traffic Police officials estimate that 4,000 vehicle ply on the roads during peak hour. Traffic jams are common right through the day. “It is not unusual for me to take 30 or 40 minutes to drive the 3 km from Big Bazaar to the Vivekananda Ashram,” said Ms. Bharathi. “This has been the condition for months. Once in a way, somebody dumps construction debris in the pot-holes. There is yet another huge pot-hole near the MEG Centre. Last month, when I was driving home at night, my car went over it and two of my car's rims bent on the impact. Nothing has been done about it. We regulars now know which parts to avoid but this whopper of a pot-hole was a surprise even to me as it appeared overnight.”
“We took a house in Pensioners' Paradise to lead our retired life. But this road has worsened our lives. Developmental work should go on but at least some steps should be immediately taken to repair this road,” said a retired Army officer who lives in Brigade Paramount.
‘Not as crowded'
When contacted, a senior police official said: “Old Madras Road, between Ulsoor junction and K.R. Puram Railway Bridge, is comparatively better than Mysore Road and Tumkur Road as there are cross roads that well connected.” Commuters, if they are trapped in a gridlock, can use these cross roads as alternative roads. He added: “The reason for gridlocks on this road is the lack of patience among the commuters who tend to rush and not wait for police directions.”
