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Panel for holistic approach to mitigate Bangalore’s traffic woes

— Photo: K. Murali Kumar

Chaotic: Traffic jams on key roads are common in Bangalore.

BANGALORE: The daily chaos on Bangalore roads and the resultant loss of precious man-hours and fuel, besides increase in the number of road accidents and air pollution could be mitigated to an extent if the directions of a high-powered committee constituted by the Supreme Court are enforced in their true spirit.

The Bhure Lal Committee, constituted in 2003 to review air quality improvement in metros, held a review of Air Quality Improvement Action Plan for Bangalore, here on Friday. It issued three directions to the Government – to prepare a comprehensive parking policy (Urban Development Department); a transport plan (Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike) and a policy for running 10,000 buses besides steps for decongestion of city roads and demand management (Transport Department). The reports will be reviewed and action plan will be chalked out thereafter. The meeting was attended by heads of various civic agencies and secretaries to departments concerned.

The committee, sources said, was particular about encouraging public transport so as not only to decongest the roads, but also to bring down the air pollution levels. As such, every activity should revolve around efficient public transport and there should be a coordinated approach by different stakeholders – BBMP, Bangalore Development Authority, traffic police, UDD, Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation and the State Pollution Control Board, it said.

It noted that Bangalore lacked a well-defined parking policy.

Parking of private vehicles in public places was taking away the utility of valuable public place, which should have been used for movement of general public.

The committee observed that multi-level parking facilities required huge investment.

Instead, the movement of private vehicles should be curbed as far as possible and the policy should focus on this issue, it said.

Whatever infrastructure was added would become insufficient within no time as it would not match the growing number of private vehicles, it said.

The BBMP should come out with a comprehensive transport policy offering synchronisation of various modes of public transport – bus, railway and the metro. The Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development Corporation was on the verge of completing a survey in this regard and the policy should be based on the survey report, the committee suggested.

There should be an action plan to operate as many as 10,000 buses in the city in a phased manner.

A ban on movement of private vehicles during peak hours could be considered, provided the BMTC offered point-to-point bus service at high frequency.

Of the 1,763 km roads in the city, the committee was told, 290 km of roads were of four-lane or more (width beyond 80 feet).

These stretches could accommodate dedicated path for BMTC buses during the peak hours to improve the efficiency of operation and discourage use of private vehicles.

The Karnataka State Legal Services Authority, which is determined to reduce air pollution in the city, will coordinate with the mission. Its executive chairman, V. Gopala Gowda, told The Hindu that he would shortly call a meeting of stakeholders to discuss the action plan.

“We should concentrate on social gains instead of individual gains, and public transport should be given priority,” he said.

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