BANGALORE: Driving in the wrong direction seems to be the thumb rule in New Thippasandra, which is one of the popular shopping destinations in East Bangalore. Located near the 80 feet Road in Indiranagar, this route also connects Indiranagar to areas like Bagmane Tech Park and BEML gate. This makes it an important thoroughfare for commuters and shoppers alike. With the development of areas including GM Palya, Malleshpalya and Vignana Nagar, the volume of vehicles movement on New Thippasandra Main Road has increased considerably, compelling the traffic police to make it a one-way.Streets with one-way traffic are conceived easier to manage traffic. But, driving in one-way roads is a major issue faced by residents here. “The whole of Thippasandra is a one-way road, but in peak traffic hours, both in mornings and evenings, people often drive in the wrong direction. When motorists coming from opposite direction are caught, they plead ignorance. Accidents are bound to happen if it continues in this way,” said Manoj, a commuter. Echoing the same opinion, Susha Ravindran, a resident of New Thippasandra, said, “Often motorists ride their bikes in the opposite direction. We already have to deal with a narrow road and this is a added misery for us. If motorists ride vehicles from the opposite direction, how much space will be left for us to walk?”Even after a year, this road remains one way only on paper. Two-wheelers, auto rickshaws, cars and sometimes even trucks are seen taking the wrong way. People are yet to see the Traffic Police pulling up any motorist on this road for taking the wrong way due to which the motorists have neither qualms nor fear about going the wrong way almost everyday. When we contacted the Jeevanbhima Nagar Traffic Police, the head constable Ramakrishnaiah said, “The one-way was implemented around six years back. Since then we have kept a close watch on the rule breakers. We fine them `100 and we get around 15-20 such cases on a daily basis. At night, we go on patrolling and keep a close watch. Despite our efforts they still break the rules and we cannot help it.”According to reports it is the call centre cabbies, auto rickshaw drivers and the two-wheelers who don’t seem to pay heed to the one-way sign. Many opined that low fine levied for this traffic violation might be the reason for commuters to take it so lightly.
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