Kids stuck in traffic for two hours daily in Bengaluru: Parents

BENGALURU: Over 1,500 parents in and around Sarjapur, Varthur, Panathur and Bellandur have petitioned the traffic police chief to save their wards from the pain of getting stuck in traffic for two hours every day. This comes after a day after a school bus sank in a ditch near Panathur and 20 students had to be pulled out. The parents have now expressed a grave concern over 15 locations that are infamous for traffic gridlocks and potholes on the stretch. Over 25,000 children bear the brunt of bad infrastructure in the Bengaluru East City Corporation that houses a significant number of IT companies. Parents said the bad stretch extends from Sarjapur Road to Varthur Road, covering Bellandur, Panathur, Thubarahalli, and Balagere. They complain that their children are stuck in traffic on this road for over two hours every day. Maneka Reddy, whose child is studying at Inventure Academy, approached Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Karthik Reddy and requested him to address the issue. Our children are stuck in traffic between 2.30 and 4.30 pm every day. School buses are taking a long time to traverse because of potholes, construction vehicles parked on the roadside, vehicles coming from the opposite side and others. The issues were taken up with the joint commissioner of police (traffic) and he is aiming to ease the situation, she said. A schoolbus carrying 20 children got stuck in a ditch on the Balagere-Panathur Road on Friday | Express Residents pin hopes on new corpn to fix road The parents have found 15 junctions that are causing delays for one reason or the other. Traffic police have surveyed the potholes, the transport system of each school and bus timings to arrive at a data-driven solution. But the biggest issue remains with the corporation. Earlier during the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) administration, officials used to give the lame excuse of monsoon to delay the road work, like asphalting and filling up of potholes. During the non-rainy season, they would delay fixing potholes, said Pavithra Holla, a parent from Balagere-Panathur Road. She hoped that the new corporation would fix the Balagere-Panathur Road from the Railway Under Bridge side. Recently, Additional Chief Secretary of Urban Development Department Tushar Girinath directed Greater Bengaluru Authority officials and other parastatals to address the pothole issue. The traffic department has identified 4,822 potholes on major roads in the city and asked GBA to fix them. Karthik Reddy said he will analyse data from each school in the area and stagger school bus timings. This, he hoped, would bring some improvement in traffic in the area. He also urged GBA to fix potholes. Problematic traffic junctions listed by parents of students Ambalipura-Sarjapur Road and Varthur-Sarjapur Road -- Only two traffic personnel on the stretch, filled with potholes and absence of a barricade. AET Junction to APR -- Narrow Road, people drive on the wrong side, leading to choking. A barricade is urgently needed here. Varthur-Sarjapur Road -- Absence of a traffic signal leading to traffic jams. Kodathi Gate signal -- The signal duration is very long and does not prioritise high traffic volume coming from schools. Muthanallur Signal -- Just a 30-second green signal, huge potholes, construction vehicles parked along the sides. Panathur Main Road and Underpass -- Narrow roads, lack of coordinated signals and poor road conditions. Devarabeesanahalli village circle -- Absence of a signal. Gunjur to Varthur Market area (on to Whitefield) -- Narrow roads, large potholes and staggered junctions. Brigade Cornerstone Utopia and Sai Purvi -- Potholes. Road connecting Sarjapur Hosa Road -- Two U-turns between Hosa Road and Sarjapur Road choke traffic in all directions. Nandini Circle near SNN Raj Etternia -- This junction is used by all school buses, resulting in traffic jams. Junction near Mahaveer Ranches -- Potholes, waterlogging and heavy vehicle movement during school hours. Harvest International School -- Choke points. Carmelaram Railway Station Road -- Four-wheelers, two-wheelers and cabs block this road. Deens Academy - Gunjur - Potholes WORKS TO FIX BALAGERE-PANATHUR ROAD BEGINS Bengaluru: A day after a school bus, with around 20 children on board, got stuck in a ditch along the Balagere-Panathur Road, officials from the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) visited the spot and stated that road repair work, along with road extension as per the Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP), has been taken up. On Saturday morning, East Commissioner Ramesh D S, along with Joint Commissioner Dr Dakshayini, Executive Engineer Uday and others visited the site. As per the inspection and evaluation, it has been decided that the widening of the road to 18 metres is necessary. This is reported to have been a priority concern for about six months now. As of now, the width of the road is between 10 to 15 metres. According to Uday, consent is required from private landowners in the area to extend the roads dimensions. As of now, one owner has already consented after the bus incident, and their compound wall of 15-20 years is being demolished. As of now, a 200-metre-stretch of land is available for widening, for which work has started already.