In 2016, a young man, Harish, was cut in half after a truck ran over his bike at Thippagondanahalli on Tumakuru Road. He succumbed to his injuries after 20 minutes of the accident. Knowing that he would not survive, he had asked ambulance staff to inform doctors that his organs should be donated.
This selfless service of Harish had also forced the then Congress government to introduce ‘Mukhyamantri Santwana Harish Yojana,’ providing cashless treatment in the crucial hours after an accident.
Now, after a gap of over six years, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has decided to eliminate 13 black spots that include Thippagondanahalli located between Nelamangala and Tumakuru of NH 48. The NHAI is widening the stretch to six lanes for a stretch of 45 km, building service roads, flyovers, underpasses, and a bypass at Tumakuru. The project will cost ₹2,032 crore.
On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation for the project along with other highway projects of the NHAI that are going to be built on the outskirts of the city connecting satellite towns.
The move helps in decongesting the traffic on the Tumakuru Road that connects Bengaluru with the districts located in middle and northern parts of the State. The existing infrastructure of four lanes is not sufficient to accommodate the growing traffic.
Every day, thousands of heavy trucks and buses use the road to reach various parts of the city. The police say that heavy congestion on the road and presence of black spots are resulting in accidents. They say that most of the victims of the accidents on this stretch are pedestrians and bikers.
In the last three years, 797 accidents were reported on the stretch, claiming 185 victims. Other than Thippagondanahalli, 12 more black spots were identified, such as Kuluvanahalli, Yedehalli, Chikkahalli, and Hirehalli.
A senior official of the NHAI said, “Widening of the existing main lanes from four to six lanes and construction of service road will help in decongesting traffic. Elimination of black spots are also very crucial to bring down the accident rate, thereby reducing the fatalities. An important feature of the project is that 45 km will be controlled. The project also proposes the construction of a flyover at points such as Kyathasandra”.
A senior police official of Nelamangala said that the existing infrastructural constraints do not allow smooth flow of traffic on the main lanes. “At present, road accidents are happening at the U-turn points or pedestrians crossing the roads. When repeated accidents or fatalities happen, black spots are identified. The authorities concerned will be approached to fix engineering faults, putting up signboards and others. The proposed widening of the road will help in decongesting the road. At the same time, the NHAI should also take up measures to build FOBs wherever required for crossing the road,” the official added.
