TenderSure project: City beautiful, but traffic not so pretty?

Bengaluru: What the media, former corporators and road-users had feared has finally come true. St Mark’s Road, with its wide, beautiful footpaths and narrow road space for vehicles, was chock-a-block with traffic on Monday, the first weekday after TenderSure project was inaugurated on Saturday.

Deccan Chronicle, which went on a reality check on the stretch, spoke to commuters, who said that there was no improvement in the flow of traffic. They pointed to the footpath, saying it was disproportionately wide for the road. Even on Vittal Mallya Road, where TenderSure was inaugurated on Saturday by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, the situation was not different. This reporter was stuck in a traffic jam on the stretch for over 10 minutes.  

Mr K. Pasha, a commuter on St Mark’s Road, said: “We have not seen any improvement in traffic after the completion of TenderSure work. The traffic continues to be chaotic during office hours, and I still take the same amount of time to travel from my house to my office.”

Voicing a similar opinion, Mr Rakesh Kumar, another commuter said, “Traffic jams continue, whether it’s office hours or school timings. How can we expect anything else when a major portion of the road is occupied by footpaths? A BMTC bus covers half of the road, and it is natural for traffic to pile up. Also, we have a bus stop in the middle of this narrow road. There are so many reasons for this traffic mess.”

The situation is worse on Vittal Mallya Road. Mudasir Ahmed said, “The traffic situation has gone from bad to worse after TenderSure. These roads witness continuous flow of traffic, so how can you justify having footpaths wider than the road?”

But many did agree that traffic jams have come down between 1 and 4 pm. BBMP Commissioner Kumar Naik said, “It is too early to say anything. We have to integrate many other roads as well to know the real outcome. I have to check with the officials concerned before I can reach any conclusion.”