BANGALORE: The main purpose of a flyover is to obliveate the criss crossing of vehicles and scale down the traffic. But the Maruthi Sevanagar flyover does not seem to serve its purpose. It instead adds to the traffic troubles.The bow-shaped structure connects Banaswadi Main Road to nearby localities such as Byappanahalli, Kamanahalli, OMBR layout, HRBR layout and Ramurthynagar. The flyover was constructed to avoid the long wait of vehicles at the railway signal. However, it has not brought any change in the state. Even today people have to wait for five to twenty minute in the traffic at the foot of the flyover.“The flyover is very narrow and only about 24-26 feet wide. The congestion in the area is quite common during peak hours and even two way traffic moves in a single line,” said Jayesh, a commuter. At the foot of the flyover there is a bottleneck. As a result there is a traffic jam there.The bus stops just before and at the foot of the flyover and it only makes matters worse. Unfortunately, the bus drivers are forced to stop here as a lot of people wait for the bus there. “The flyover is wide enough for only two BMTC buses to pass abreast. Buses stopping over the narrow entry to the flyover creates a long queue of vehicles behind,” he added.The encroachment of two wheelers and autorickshaws from the two sides of the one way road leading to Kammanahalli and Byppanahalli creates confusions and mayhem. “All the one way rules on the side ramps are violated blatantly.People take U-turns before, after and even right in the middle of the flyover.It is really annoying and this carelessness creates havoc.On an average there are usually two accidents that occur here on a daily basis due to the cavalier nature of drivers,” said Raj, a resident of Sevanagar.Due to narrowd road the parking problem also arises.People park their vehicles beneath the flyover on the road that connecting Banaswadi Main Road. It causes troubles for the residents living nearby. “The area under the flyover has been converted into a parking area. Women and children find it very difficult to arrive at the main road through the chaos of parked vehicles. Even, the shopowners have no other alternative but to park below the overpass,” appended Raj.The traffic stretches to half a kilometre during peak hours. “It’s chaos here in the mornings from 7 am to 10 am and the same happens in the evening from 3 pm to 8 pm. There would be three to five of us at the spot concurrently to manage the uncontrollable vehicle passage,” states a traffic police on duty, on the condition of anonymity.“We try our level best to ensure that people don’t jump lanes or take U-turns without a constructive signal,” he added. The show time of the theatre near the flyover also plays an important role in the traffic congestion near the foot of the flyover.“During the monsoon the foot of the flyover gets flooded with water. It makes traffic even slower and motorists find it difficult to navigate.Bikers are at a higher risk,” stated another commuter, Aloysius.The overcrowding of vehicles can be reduced by widening the flyover. “If the road width is increased to 35 feet, half the problems related with traffic jam can be cut down. The authorities have to take advanced measures for leastwise 20 years ahead, as the number of new motors on the road increases day by day,” said Ranganathan, a senior citizen who has been living in Sevanagar for two decades now.However, over years there was a lot of disagreement regarding the widening of flyover between the authorities and residents. When approached BBMP authorities showed a nonperformance outlook to the problem that many hundreds face daily.The growth of the nearby localities as Kamanahalli, HRBR adds pressure to seek an immediate solution for this before the problem get out of hand.
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