BANGALORE: If you happen to pass through the KR Puram-Whitefield stretch, you would notice two-wheelers queuing up to enter a narrow cave right under the tracks near KR Puram railway station. Just that it’s not a cave, but a namesake subway.This railway subway in Mahadevapura is constructed with such lack of thought that even two-wheelers find it difficult to manoeuvre through it and have to wait until traffic from the opposite side passes them. “I take this route quite often, as it helps save time to commute between Mahadevapura and Ramamurthy Nagar.Otherwise, I have to go on Old Madras Road (OMR) till the Pai Layout junction, take a U-turn and climb the hanging bridge to reach my residence.It increases the commute by more than three kilometre,” said Parthasarathy S, a Ramamurthy Nagar resident.He added that peakhour traffic on the bustling OMR meant further delay for commuters.It’s not only him, many others, too, don’t mind taking the narrow subway to reach their areas in shorter duration.As the subway connects KR Puram, Mahadevapura and A Narayanapura with Dooravani Nagar and Ramamurthy Nagar, it always witnesses constant traffic flow, albeit in a trickle.“Most of the roads in and around this zone, including OMR, Outer Ring Road and Whitefield Road, are chocka- block. So, we don’t mind using the subway, though at times, some tall riders get hurt trying to get past the oncoming traffic. They even hit against the low roof,” said Shyam Sundar, a regular commuter.Apart from all these issues, during rains, water leaks all through the stonewalled subway and add to the woes of commuters, who then have to brave the pothole-filled roads around it. Ramanna B, who sells coconut near the subway, said that this had been the scene over the past few years.“I, myself, have been seeing it for nearly 4-5 years now. There is no sign of improvement, not just with the subway, but also to lay the roads leading to the hanging bridge. Earlier, there used to be a level-crossing parallel to the subway, but now it’s restricted for traffic movement. While it was also dangerous, it was much better than this subway,” he explained.Obviously, it seems to have missed the eyes of KR Puram MLA Nandiesh Reddy, who started off his term with a lot of promise. He even cleared the mess around the Benniganalli railway bridge, which used to be a major bottleneck for years.“Now, we hope that he does something about this, too. Ideally, there should be a proper subway or another flyover connecting Mahadevpura with OMR and surrounding areas,” said a Dooravani Nagar resident.When City Express tried reaching MLA Nandiesh Reddy, he was unavailable for comments.
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