Mysuru:
Barricades used as medians are turning out to add to the problem they are meant to solve, by turning out to be hindrances to free movement of vehicles rather than easing it. The main reason is that they are placed in a very haphazard manner, and many of them are worn out.
It has become very easy for pedestrians and motorists to shift these barricades, even on busy roads in the heart of the city, much to the chagrin of other road users.
The barricades on
Sayyaji Rao Road and
Albert Victor Road, in particular, remain a source of much inconvenience to road users. The barricades have not been nailed to the road, or interlocked with one another, as was the case earlier. In an effort to ensure that the barricades are aligned as a single unit, police have connected them using threads, which can be easily removed. On the other hands, barriers placed on Mother Teresa Road have worn out, and it appears as though they might not last very long.
Citizens have taken to Twitter to express their displeasure over this persisting problem. Suggesting that it would be better to switch to concrete medians, citizens have tagged these tweets to city police and the Mysuru City Corporation, urging them to replace the existing ones.
Satheesh, a shopkeeper, said that, in order to prevent people from moving the barricades, the authorities ought to fix them immovably to the road.
Deputy commissioner of police (traffic) Mahanand Nandagavi admitted to the problem, and said that officers had been given instructions to attend to the same. “Yes, some of the barricades are also worn out. I have submitted a proposal to the MCC to install steel barricades along the Dasara procession route,” Nandagavi said.
Meanwhile, another police official said that technology had improved and barricades could now be fixed on concrete roads. “But, the civic agency is not responding to our request,” he added.
