Traffic police notifies bus priority lane in ORR

On Friday, the City Police Commissioner issued a notification prohibiting entry of other vehicles on the bus priority lane in ORR from Central Silk Board to Tin Factory and then towards Baiyyappanahalli. Only BMTC buses can use the lane, the notification said.

Offenders will be booked under Section 177 of Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. They’ll have to pay a fine of Rs 500 for the first offence and Rs 1000 for every subsequent one, said B R Ravikante Gowda, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic). The police also plans to write to the state government to increase the fine for these violators.

BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) is yet to demarcate the entire 17-km stretch of the bus priority lane. BBMP Commissioner B H Anil Kumar tweeted that a 12-km stretch of the lane, from Lowry Circle to Iblur, was functional. He clarified that though the police notification identifies the bus priority lane on only one direction – from Silk Board to KR Puram – the rule would be effective in both directions.

Source: The Times of India | The Hindu | Deccan Herald | Bangalore Mirror

Work begins on eight transit hubs

State government is taking steps to set up eight inter-modal transit hubs to connect bus, metro or rail networks at entry points to the city. This is part of an attempt to decongest the city by terminating the trips of long-distance public and private buses at the transit hubs. The idea is to transfer the passengers easily to BMTC, metro, suburban rail and shared mobility, through seamless integration. The plan has been in the anvil for years.

The Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) has picked out eight spots for the transit hubs. It is inviting bids from companies for quality-cum-cost-based expertise to build the hubs at four locations on the eastern part of the city, in addition to those planned at Challaghatta, Peenya, Ballari Road and Bommasandra.

Officials said that the transit hubs could give direct connections to the concourse level of metro stations instead of the ground level, reducing the time needed to transfer from one mode to the other. The design of the hubs would include parking space for two-wheelers and four-wheelers, and means to integrate auto-rickshaws, taxis and shared bikes. Bus depots would be built in strategic sites closest to the hubs.

Source: Deccan Herald

Over 4000 residents protest on Haralur main road

More than 4000 residents from Haralur, Silver County Road, Kudlu, Somasundrapalya, Mangamannapalya and HSR Layout Sector 2 marched last Saturday for four kms along Haraluru Main Road to protest bad roads, traffic jams, poor garbage collection, and lack of footpath and civic amenities. They marched under the banner ‘Fight4Right: Citizens March Against Civic Apathy’, and formed a human chain on Sarjapur Road.

People of all ages and all walks of life, dressed in white and sporting black ribbons, shouted slogans against elected representatives and civic officials. Their protest follows the Mahadevapura protest last month, that had spurred authorities to action.

Ramakrishna Reddy, President of the Haralur-Somasundarapalya Residents’ Association, said their neighbourhoods are sandwiched in the “no-man’s land” between Mahadevapura, Anekal and Bommanahalli assembly segments, and hence doesn’t get any MLA’s attention. He also said that no official has heard them out except BBMP Special Commissioner D Randeep.

Source: The Hindu | Deccan Herald

New tender on parking in Cubbon Park draws ire

Activists are dismayed that the Department of Horticulture has called for a new tender to collect fees in five authorised parking lots in Cubbon Park. The department hopes to collect more than Rs 60 lakh a year as parking fee. Officials say that unauthorised parking inside the park is on the rise.

However, several environmentalists and members of the Cubbon Park Walkers’ Association objected to the plan, demanding a complete ban on vehicular movement in the park instead. The call for a new tender only meant that vehicles would not be banned for the next two years, said S Umesh, president of the Cubbon Park Walkers’ Association.

Senior officials from the department admitted that they too would support vehicle restriction, but would find it difficult to enforce the rule due to the lack of parking space elsewhere in the area. Building underground or multi-storied parking facilities in the Central Business District and government offices nearby might be a solution, said retired judge Michael Saldanha.

Source: The Hindu

Rise in lung infections

There is a sudden spurt in cases of respiratory infection, allergic rhinitis and allergic bronchitis in Bengaluru. This due to sporadic rains and a drop in temperature, which have enabled the spread of infections. Apart from changing weather conditions, construction dust and pollution around metro construction sites have also contributed to pulmonary infections.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare reveals that the number of cases in Karnataka had gone up from 22 lakh in 2017 to 24 lakh last year, while casualties over this period increased from 73 to 103.

Source: Deccan Herald

Students urge shopkeepers to stop putting lights on trees

On Friday evening, students appealed to commercial establishments on 100 feet Road, Indiranagar, to stop putting decorative fairy lights on trees. They were on a drive spearheaded by Interact Club, a youth community service organisation. A few weeks ago the youth had sent an online appeal to the stores and visited those that did not respond.

They were guided by arborist Jonas Suchanek. According to Suchanek, the lights strangle the trees, hamper natural flowering and affect birds. Besides, nails on the trees damage the bark and allow the growth of fungus and bacteria over time.

Source: The Hindu | Bangalore Mirror

[Compiled by Revathi Siva Kumar]