BENGALURU: Residents heading out of the city for Dasara festivities Friday night faced hours of frustration as traffic congestion left long-distance buses operated by KSRTC and private operators crawling through the city roads. Heavy rain in the evening further worsened traffic, with some passengers spending five to six hours on the roads before they could get out.A KSRTC conductor operating on the Bengaluru-Mangaluru route said, “Our bus left Majestic almost on schedule. However, it took us more than 3.5 hours to travel from Navarang theatre to Goraguntepalya as traffic came to a standstill. At Govardhan theatre, four of our passengers were waiting for hours for the pick-up. They were exhausted and kept calling repeatedly, worried they would miss the bus.”Tumakuru Road was among the worst-affected stretches. A traffic police officer said 800 to 900 buses typically pass through the Yeshwantpur-Goraguntepalya stretch of the arterial road on normal weekends. During festive seasons and long weekends, though, the number surges to more than 2,500.The officer said, “On Friday, rain and heavy traffic caused congestion near Govardhan theatre and beyond for hours. Traffic eased only around 2.30am. All approach roads, including Navarang theatre, Chord Road, Sankey Tank Road, CV Raman Road and the ORR stretch, were choked. Due to space constraints and lack of bus bays and shelters, drivers often park haphazardly to pick up passengers, blocking traffic movement,” the officer said, adding more than 12 police personnel were deployed at the spot to regulate traffic.Only proposals, no implementation
- Authorities have proposed several measures to ease congestion on Tumakuru Road, including widening the stretch near Govardhan theatre and building bus shelters and bays.
- Traffic police had also suggested that KSRTC shift its operations to Basaveshwara bus terminal in Peenya, which has remained unused for years.
- Years ago, authorities proposed developing a transport hub at Madavara near BIEC to handle long-distance buses and prevent them from entering the city. The plan was to encourage passengers to use Metro or buses to reach BIEC and board long-distance buses there.
- Similar proposals were mooted for Mysuru Road near Challaghatta, KR Pura, Byappanahalli, Hebbal and other locations.
- However, the proposals have made little to no progress.
Similar scenes on Hosur RoadCommuters also took to social media to flag worsening congestion on Hosur Road and connecting highways. Traffic piled up near Chandapura. Commuters reported frequent traffic snarls between Attibele and Bommasandra. Incessant rain, pending works by NHAI and K-Ride, and waterlogging near Chandapura further slowed down traffic.
