It is one of the busiest junctions where policemen dread to man traffic during peak hours. Such is the maddening traffic that it has even rendered traffic signals ineffective. But believe it or not, over 10,000 vehicles pass through the Magadi Road-Chord Road junction every hour. In fact the time required for a motorist to wade through the flood of traffic here is over 180 seconds, which, according to traffic experts, is “too much a time taken.” Adding to the problem is the infrastructure which has remained the same since decades despite the steady increase in traffic flow.

Also called the Vijayanagar Entrance, this junction connects two major roads - the West of Chord Road (Inner Ring Road) and Magadi Road. It also acts as the entry point for vehicles to reach the centre City from almost all areas in the southern part.

While the movement of heavy vehicles has increased on Chord Road as it connects Mysore Road to Tumkur Road, Magadi Road is too narrow to accommodate the mounting traffic. Over and above, bad roads and uneven footpaths have only compounded the problem. To top it all, the junction has three Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) bus stands, two petrol bunks, a temple and a marriage hall situated close to it. And traffic piles up when the BMTC buses jostle for space near the stop.

“These have contributed significantly to the traffic jams. Since the temple is a sensitive issue, there is no question of initiating any action to either forcefully control the number of devotees or to shift the very temple. And it has been difficult to make the petrol bunk owners shift their base as they are very influential,” a traffic police constable, who wished to be anonymous, said. In fact, the civic agencyís plans to put an end to the chaos has also failed. Bangalore Mahanagara Palike, which had intended to re-design the junction and widen the existing roads, dropped the plan as there was no space available near the junction.

Marriage halls, the temple and petrol bunks have been there for many years. “We should keep the junction free from all nuisance and traffic rules should be followed strictly. Besides, traffic flow can be made smooth only by a grade separator or a fly-over,” say officials.

POSSIBLE CURE

Construction of a grade separator.
Shifting the existing bus-stands from near the junction.
Clear footpath encroachment.
Strict enforcement of traffic rules.