Steel flyover at Shivananda Circle will not ease flow: Experts

Rachana Ramesh | NT
Bengaluru:

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is finally getting back to work on the construction of a controversial steel flyover in Shivananda Circle. The flyover has been behind schedule for at least by 3 years.

It has been five years since civic authorities began work on the muchtouted Shivananda Circle steel flyover, however, experts say that the flyover at the junction is not required at all. Dr Ashish Verma of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) conducted a study about two-three years ago on the request of concerned citizens living in the neighborhood.

Based on the traffic flow data that was available from the roads connecting to Sivananda Circle, it was found that the congestion would not be relieved much. “It will create more capacity at the location of the flyover, but the points further will still remain the same, making it an unsustainable solution,” Verma said.

“There is a fundamental flaw in the idea of a flyover. They don’t really solve the problem of traffic congestion but merely shift the point of congestion,” he said, adding that if it worked as a long-term solution, Bengaluru’s issue of traffic would be solved with the number of flyovers and underpasses that have been constructed in the past decade.

'Waste of public money'

Srinivas Alavilli, one of the key organisers of the 'Steel Flyover Beda' movement in 2016, who opposed the construction of a steel flyover from Basaveshwara Circle to Hebbal, said, “It is being added to the list of useless flyovers in the city. It is a waste of public money and will be a demonstration of why flyovers are not solutions.”

He believes flyovers just lead to environmental losses and the solution to traffic is an efficient public transportation system. The work was put on hold due to litigation issues, but the High Court recently allowed the civic body to resume after the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) experts approved their modified design which slightly reduces the flyover’s gradient.

The change in design was made in order to not acquire six of the seven properties, whose owners were not happy with the compensation offered by the authorities. However, BBMP plans to acquire one property which is a vacant site.

'Most inconvenient for commuters since 2017'

Suresh from Sree Sivananda General stores, after which the junction is named, said the brunt of this long-standing construction is felt by commuters who use public transport or depend on getting to places by foot.

Earlier, there were two bus stops on either side of the junction and a public toilet, but these vanished since the construction began. The footpath on the side of the store is non-existent. “It is the most inconvenient thing that has been happening since 2017,” Suresh said, adding that he does not believe that the flyover will bring any changes.

“While two-wheelers and car driving population may have relief, the pedestrians and public transport using population will still suffer if the BBMP does not make provisions for the reconstruction of the lost spaces,” he concluded. Lokesh M, Chief Engineer (Projects) of BBMP, said the construction is set to be finished in 30 days. “There is currently no plan for building bus stops, but will be built when the required land is acquired."