Deccan Chronicle 05.11.2009

‘Will ask BBMP to stop work’

Bengaluru
Nov. 4: The people have won the day as their complaints against the grade separator at Tagore Circle junction have been heard. Prof. M.N. Srihari, traffic advisor to the government, has promised to stop work on the separator and have the road re-laid.

“Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) will be told to stop the work and relay the road soon,” Prof. Srihari assured the people, concluding after an inspection of the project, that an underpass at Tagore Circle junction was not the answer to traffic trouble here.

“BBMP should have gone in for a magic box here instead to connect BP Wadia Road and Bugle Rock Road. This underpass will be of little use,” Prof. Srihari, who is also chairman, Traffic Expert and Safety Trainers (TEST), said pointing out that the project did not make economic sense either as a magic box could be built for Rs 15 lakh, while the underpass will require nearly Rs 20 crore to complete. In his view, the civic agency BBMP should have opted for widening the road and introducing signals at this point for better traffic flow.

The people of Basavangudi, who were consulted by Prof. Srihari, told him traffic conditions had worsened in the area since work on the grade separator began. “The underpass was needed at South End Circle and elsewhere but not here. We were not asked for our views before Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike began work on the grade separator. If the civic body does not stop the work even now, we will go to court and get the necessary stay orders,” Shantha Puttaraju, a resident of Basavangudi, warned.