CMH Road shrugs off Metro nightmare

Traffic crawls on the Chinmaya Mission Hospital (CMH) Road in Indiranagar. Yet there is a perceptible sense of relief in the locality that the lifeline of the area has been thrown open to two-way traffic.

The CMH Road, which was closed over two years back for facilitating the construction work on the Reach 1 of Namma Metro, was thrown open to traffic in both directions a week back.

The move is sure to decongest roads across the locality in the coming days. Work is still on at several spots on the road to make the traffic flow smooth.

Residents and traders feel that there is still some work left like clearing debris in the area, while the city traffic police say that the opening of the road for two-way traffic was necessary to speed up the pending works on that stretch.

“We have debris still lying on the road. The road had become a waste bin. Works by the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) and Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) are still pending,” said a police officer, who was managing the traffic on the road.

Additional police commissioner (traffic) Praveen Sood agreed with his junior officer’s argument and said that the opening of the arterial road for two-way traffic was done on an experimental basis.

“There is still a lot more to be done like clearing the debris spread all along the road. There are BWSSB pipes that have to be re-laid. Construction material is strewn around the place, which needs to be cleared as well. The work will take about 10 days if it is executed swiftly. Or else it will take at least six months,” he said.

Sood said the road had to be re-laid as it was posing a danger to motorists, especially two-wheeler riders. “Riding on the road is an arduous task for our own personnel. Mud and waste material is spread all along. If it rains, the condition becomes worse,” said a trader, Mathew Joseph.

Sood said that the opening of the CMH Road would ease congestion to a great extent on the two roads that connect Indiranagar to areas beyond: the Old Madras Road and Old Airport Road.

“There will be less pressure on these two roads. We want to ensure that more and more motorists take the CMH Road as it would ease the burden on the other two roads,” he explained.

He said the traffic police had already opened the stretch between Adarsha Junction and Trinity Circle, for one-way traffic. “We are yet to get clearance from the Metro authorities for this. As there is some more work pending on the stretch, we are yet to open it for two-way traffic,” Sood said.