Narrow roads, unending chaos

Bengaluru: Residents of Ambedkar Layout dread venturing out of their houses every morning for work and later they cringe at the thought of returning home. On an average it takes around two hours to negotiate a bottleneck caused due to the narrow stretches on both Tannery and Dinnur Main Road.

“I live close to that road, but I get stuck for one-and-a-half to two hours, during peak hours. If there is a vehicle breakdown or two big buses on the road, it is a nightmare. Everyone curses and cribs. If the authorities  can spend so much money to build a flyover on Bellary main road to reach the airport, why can't they spare some to widen these important roads?" questions a resident.

He has been a personal victim of this jam. His father, who’d had a cardiac arrest, was being taken in an ambulance through Dinnur Main road, to the hospital. They were stuck in traffic for half an hour and his father passed away in the ambulance.

He adds, "This has been a long-term problem. The traffic is extremely slow-moving on Tannery Road. One reason for this are the vendors who occupy the pedestrian footpaths, which is a violation of the high court directive.”

Another resident adds, “But Dinnur Main Road is worse. They have placed 4 to 5 cops there to manage the traffic.” “To cover just 3/4th of the road, I take half an hour," said Chandrasekaran, who lives  nearby.

“The area has a lot of low-income groups residents and I think most of them may not be paying taxes. But politicians want to preserve this vote bank, which is why they are not widening the road,” claimed a resident.

The members of Ambedkar Layout Residents’ Assosciation have been complaining to Corporator Netra Narayan and MLA Srinivas Murthy for over 2 years now. The last complaint was made 6 months ago.

"The corporator said she would take up the issue. The MLA said that the government buildings and private establishments that occupy space on either side would be removed. Nothing has happened so far and we continue to suffer every day," the residents said.

No action is being take to widen  these roads. This is despite the fact that the area is close to Central Bengaluru and tech parks like Manyata. Widening will be crucial to reducing traffic and improving connectivity.

‘Have requested mla to help begin work soon’
DC speaks to Netra Narayan, corporator, Kavalabyrasandra. Excerpts.

When do you plan to widen the problematic road to provide relief to commuters?
Widening of road has been sanctioned. It will be taken up by issuing Transferable Development Rights (TDR), instead of financial compensation, to landowners. But the residents have to agree for TDR as some of them are demanding more TDRs.

Have you made any submission to the BBMP to expedite the road widening process?
It was moved by MLA Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy and it has been approved by the government. We have requested the MLA to exert pressure on the government to begin work at the earliest.

Have you not identified an alternative road to reduce stress and congestion on the road?
Earlier, we had an alternative option where we had to pass through the defence property. Traffic was allowed only from 7 am to 10 pm, and it was helpful. But, recently, the road was blocked leading to congestion on Dinnur Main Road. We are asking the defence authorities to allow traffic until the roads are widened.