Men At Work: Motorists Beware!

It is raining concrete on Bangalore. First it was those arterial roads which got the white topping, a pleasant sounding term to mask the agony motorists are subjected to. In many arterial roads, half the width was closed to traffic to carry out the digging and lay concrete.

For motorists it was like the proverbial camel passing through a needle's eye. All driving etiquettes took a back seat and frayed tempers, honking contests became the order of the day. Amid such constricted driving conditions commuting hours increased by leaps and bounds.

Now that the concrete works have either ended or nearing completion in many parts of the city, the attention of the civic authorities have turned towards smaller lanes. At many places the culverts and drains are being redone to ensure proper water flow.

Near my house the drain works happened ahead of state elections, but some drain stretches ran into dead ends as roads had to be cut to clear the debris and build a proper drain. The work was left pending and now it is being taken up.

There are hardly any warning signs to alert the motorists and is especially dangerous during nights when it is barely visible from a distance.

Many motorists have their rude awakening barely 4-5 metres shy of the dug up area. This is followed by some frantic stepping on brake pedal to screeching just-in-time halts.

Four-wheeler drivers, especially those driving burly SUVs, struggle to take a U-turn on the narrow sub-20 feet wide road with drain on one side. Their driving skills and the turning radius of their vehicles are put to ultimate test.

After a few days they put back the slabs on the road. But following the illustrious tradition of the Bangalore's civic authorities, they did not properly restore it by putting the necessary cement and asphalt. Hence motorists gingerly pass over the good old slabs, now shorn of asphalt cover, and it often emits a rumbling-cum-thud sound.

The situation is the same in many parts of the city. The other day I had to go to Banaswadi station and had to take a detour at two places. Mind you I was going there barely after two months.

As I passed through the Old Baiyappanahalli railway gate without having to wait for any train to pass by, I thanked my stars. But my joy was short lived as barely half a kilometre away I was greeted by a huge traffic pile up.

Upon enquiry I got to know that the culvert was being redone and only a narrow stretch was there to pass by. Looking at the long queue of vehicles on both the sides, I decided to take a detour.

I took a U-turn and returned to the railway gate, which again was fortunately open, and then got into the road running parallel to Kallpalli cemetery.

Unfortunately I was not well versed with the route as I had passed by that stretch only a couple of times by auto. During such circumstances the best way is to follow the herd instinct. Just go through lanes that has more volume of traffic. It worked for me that day and soon I reached the Dodda Banaswadi Main Road.

Barely had I thought that I can breathe easy, came the second shock. The road leading to Banaswadi railway station has been closed for repairs!

I had to then go hunting for a parallel lane and then figure out how that lane would reach the railway station. Again I decided to fall back on the tried and tested nostrum - follow the herd. And finally we made it to the station.

With the city's smaller lanes getting a makeover, surprises lurks in every corner.

Also Read: Random Jottings