Bengaluru: Schools refuse to learn, residents in jam

Bengaluru: Sunny Alexander, a resident of 8th cross in Indiranagar, has a harrowing time whenever he has to take out his vehicle to attend an emergency. For, private vehicles are parked haphazardly in front of his house blocking the main gate as scores of parents wait to pick-up their wards from a nearby school. “It is a daily affair for us. The mobility comes to a grinding halt specifically during noon and evening as the parents who come to pick up their children from the school park their cars in front of the houses,” said Mr. Alexander.

Majority of the residents in Indiranagar are senior citizens, who need access to necessities for day to day living. But, the area which houses premier educational institutions is choked with private vehicles in the mornings and evenings. The key arterial roads like 11th Main, 12th Main including 7th and 8th cross roads (off 12th Main road), 13th, 13th A Main and 80 feet roads are the worst hit due to the school buses parked between 2.30 and 3.30 pm Monday to Saturday. The traffic woes on the above said road have grown in the last few months and the residents living near educational institution experience the worst kind of traffic congestion.

“The problem has been plaguing the area for years now. But, what’s the solution? The school authorities should allow parking of private and school vehicles inside the premises rather than choking the roads which lead to traffic jams. Due to the traffic jam caused by the private vehicles including, auto-rickshaw, two-wheelers, cars and private buses, the residents can’t use footpaths as the parents who come to pick-up the children park vehicles on road,” said Kavitha, a harried resident of 9th cross Indiranagar.

While a section of residents in the locality have aired their grievances time and again against the problem, a few chose to turn a blind eye to the problem as their wards had studied in the schools earlier, housing the locality. Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, SNS Murthy, a retired IAS officer, who has been living in the area for several decades, pointed out that there is no need for the vehicles to drop the children at school rear gate and block the traffic.

“As per the recent safety guidelines, security personnel along with an ayah have to be present in the school bus. The buses can be parked on the main road away from the residential locality and the children can be escorted to the school by the attenders.”

“In spite of properly inscribed signage stating no private buses allowed on 13th Main Road, to control the chaotic parking caused by National Public School-related vehicles especially between 2.30 pm and 3.30 pm, the vehicle start queuing up right from 1 pm which is unacceptable. Also, the vehicles are parked during school hours all along 12th and 13th Main Roads, on the 7th and 8th cross roads or wherever there is a space. The police do not seem to have any control over this,” added Mr. Murthy.         

While residents of Indiranagar fume about the lack of motorable space, the case is no different in other parts of Bengaluru. Vehicles parked around schools in the Central Business District have for long been choking roads during peak hours. Like Indiranagar 100 feet Road, main roads like Cambridge Layout Road, Residency Road, Koramangala 20th Main Road and Lavelle Road which houses many government aided and unaided educational institutions are haunting residents and commuters, equally.

Despite various measures taken by Bengaluru Traffic Police to curb traffic congestion on Bengaluru roads, the problem continues unabated. While school managements continue to block entry of vehicles into their premises, the police seem to be helpless to provide relief to lakhs of residents.

According to a senior police officer, “To tackle the menace, we need to analyze the situation pragmatically. The traffic gets worse during peak hours. While there are quite a few schools which are utilising the services of BMTC buses, many parents continue to prefer using private transport.

Problem persists as schools fail to take action

The chaos in Central Business District, especially on Residency Road and surrounding roads, where a large number of schools are situated, has forced the Traffic Police to contemplate not allowing parents to pick up their wards in private vehicles. The situation is no better than areas like Marathahalli main road and Koramanagala where several big schools are located.

The police blame it on the ambitious parents who want their children to study in a particular school, and not in the neighbourhood. Hundred of cars wait around the schools to pick up wards causing problems for the general commuters on the road. The parents argue with the policemen who ask them vacate the vehicles from the road, but in vain.

The police have been asking the schools to appoint guards to ensure the traffic is not congested at the school gates. But majority of the schools have not done anything on this regard, hence the problem continues in most of the city areas.

“It’s the responsibility of schools to ensure that parents who come to drop their wards, behave in a manner so that regular traffic on the road is not hampered. The police must identify the regular congestion points around schools so that private guards from the schools can be put up there. You cannot ask the traffic police to be present in front of every school, but there are areas in city which require assistance from the traffic police during school opening and closing hours. Schools must also encourage the parents to compulsorily send their wards by school vehicles than dropping them by cars,” said Professor M.N. Sreehari, a traffic expert.