Mysuru: Deputy Commissioner D Randeep is launching a six-month “Comprehensive Study of the Traffic Congestion in Mysuru City Centre”, which will be conducted by the Mysore Grahakara Parishat (MGP) whose report is slated to be submitted by May of next year.
R Chandra Prakash of MGP said, “The area comprising Fort area, Makkaji Chowka, Doddapete, Santhepete, Shivaramapete is the commercial hub of Mysuru and is termed the ‘Central Business District’ in the city’s Master Plan.” He added that traffic congestion in this area is on the rise and if they did not act quickly, traffic gridlocks would appear everywhere soon.
He said that track-doubling and 6-laning of the highway between Mysuru and Bengaluru would only encourage an overflow from Bengaluru and exacerbate the problem. The vehicular traffic in Mysuru was just 7000, back in 1970 whereas, now the total number of vehicles is a whopping 8 lakhs.
Prakash stated that in order to prevent a traffic disaster, an in-depth study into the various aspects of traffic congestion in the area, was of the utmost importance. “Previous studies are either out-dated or unavailable to the public”, he said. He also stated that the limitation of the Mysuru-Nanjangud Master Plan was that it did not delve into the causes of the traffic congestion.
He added that the MGP would fill the lacuna by studying the rectangular area whose corners would be the Railway Station, Ramaswamy Circle, Gun House and the Suburban Bus Stand.
“Teachers and students of various engineering colleges would be asked to carry out the traffic surveys”, he said.
Randeep complimenting the efforts said, “It is a good initiative on the part of the MGP. It is always better to take measures to tackle such problems before they arise.” He also stated his concern about the rising pollution that was a result of the rise in traffic. “If we fail to prevent and take steps to control the traffic, we may face problems like the other cities. We will try to provide the best possible solutions even by giving required stats for the project”, he said.
He then asked the MGP members to provide a report with valuable suggestions for the short, mid and long terms, instead of making it a one-sided report. He also instructed them to read up on the Comprehensive Development Plan, before beginning their study.
The MGP will meet with all the stakeholders such as the elected representatives, the police department, the district administration, MCC, MUDA, Railways, RTO, KSRTC, the auto-rickshaw associations, the chamber of commerce and the hotel owners’ association. The public can also participate in this study by mailing their suggestions to mygrapa@gmail.com.
