BMW

Transport Corporation

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Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike

By Y Maheswara Reddy & Anantha Subramanyam KAs pile-up on Richmond Rd flyover lasted for hours, road-users use boulders to create a U-turnRichmond Road flyover turned into such a traffic mess on Friday evening that frustrated motorists took matters into their own hand and started breaking the concrete divider to be able to break away from the pile-up. Traffic police officials say they too had chipped in with the divider breaking work.The traffic on the flyover began piling up on one way (towards Double Road from Richmond Road) when acar broke down. The traffic police did not dare to touch the vehicle. “We could not tow the vehicle away since it is a delicate vehicle. We have to wait to remove that vehicle from the flyover,’’ said Assistant Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Central, Antony John. As if this were not enough, a Bengaluru Metropolitan(BMTC) bus broke down on the other side of the road (towards Richmond Road from Double Road). The traffic police had to put up barricades to prevent motorists moving towards the flyover from Double Road, which had slowly become another deadlock.“I must thank an auto rickshaw driver and a cab driver who broke the concrete divider with a boulder that was lying on the flyover. We also joined them to remove the concrete and make way for the diversion of traffic,’’ Vinay Srinivas, a motorist said.However, motorists said they wish the traffic police could make alternative arrangements in case of such incidents, instead of having to break the divider. They want to have a facility that facilitates traffic diversion. The motorists complained that traffic jams are a daily feature during peak hours on this flyover.Assistant Commissioner of Police (Traffic) has said the police would take measures to fix the concrete median without much delay. “If we keep it open, motorists will continue taking a U-Turn at the spot, which is known as an accident zone. We do not want the motorists to break the rules and end up meeting with road accidents,’’ the ACP (Traffic) said.Incidentally, an unauthorised U-Turn on the flyover had inspired Pavan Kumar to make ‘U’ Turn, a Kannada film which was re-made in other languages too.(BBMP) Commissioner N Manjunatha Prasad, along with BBMP engineers, watched the film to get educated on what can be done to better Namma Bengaluru's roads.Traffic jam due to protests afterpedestrian’s death An impromptu protest after the death of a 55-year-old bank employee in an accident at Iblur junction, affecte the movement of traffic on Sarjapura Road for more than two hours on Saturday. An attempt was also made to set the cement mixer lorry that killed the pedestrian on fire. The accident happened in the HSR Layout traffic police limits on Saturday around 10.30 am. After the protests, the Bellandur police had to intervene along with the HSR Layout traffic police to persuade the protesters and clear the road.The deceased, identified as Dodda Muniyappa, was crossing the flyover near the Iblur Junction, when the cement mixer lorry that came at a high speed ran him over. Muniyappa is said to have died on the spot. BMB