Yelachenahalli Metro Station

traffic cops

pothole

IT’S BECOME A HABIT: A policeman uses a hand hoe to level a massive pothole near Yelachenahalli Metro station. On Monday, traffic police helped fix a damaged ramp of Sirsi Circle flyover

Bengaluru

By Y Maheswara ReddyHeavy rains turn crater nearinto a treacherous pool of water;take concrete actionTwo police constables attached to Kumaraswamy Layout Traffic Police Station on Tuesday morning have gone extra mile to provide the much needed relief for the motorists commuting between Yelachenahalli and Banashankari.As rain pounded the roads near Yelachenahalli, it was like the final nail in the coffin for the commuters on this road. With a service provider digging up the road near the Yelachenahalli Metro Station, motorists and commuters were already struggling to navigate this stretch and were keeping their fingers crossed that they would be spared of the rains.But no one heard their prayers. Neither the rain gods nor the service providers. The barely existing road quickly turned to a treacherous pool of dirty water with the heavy rains, and no commuter was able to gauge its depth.Traffic had slowed down to a crawl, leading to long lines of autos, cars, buses and two-wheelers, and thousands of commuters caught in a jam.But read on to know who saved the day.Said Pavan Vashista, who resides in this area, “I live just two km away from Yelachenahalli Metro Station. I wanted to engage an autorickshaw but the driver demanded extra money. When I asked him why, he told me that the traffic movement was very slow. I decided to walk up to the Metro station.’’He said he saw hundreds of motorists struggling to navigate through the pool of water. “The traffic police tried their best to regulate the traffic but in vain. Finally, they found a tractor loaded with construction material passing on the road. They stopped it and filled thewith the material and made the road a little better.”The two people who saved the day were traffic cops Basavaraj and Kumar N S. Not the BruhatMahanagara Palike.“Stagnated water was not only preventing vehicles from moving fast but also preventing pedestrians from moving between vehicles. It was very tough for us to regulate the traffic. Finally, we found a construction material-laden tractor passing through the road. We requested the driver to unload the material to fill up the crater,’’ says Basavaraj.When BM contacted Kumar N S over the phone, he said, “I felt it was my responsibility to fix the problem. I have no regrets for going the extra mile to help motorists and pedestrians,’’ says Kumar.Kumaraswamy Layout Traffic Police Station inspector Vasanth Kumar has appreciated the two constables for filling up the crater and enabling smooth movement of traffic at the Yelachenahalli Metro Station.“Much of our good work goes unnoticed. I appreciate my colleagues for doing such a commendable job,” says Vasanth Kumar.Meanwhile, Additional Commissioner of Traffic B R Ravikanthe Gowda has said that he will direct the Traffic Inspector to submit a report.“I will reward the two traffic police constables for going beyond their call of duty,” said Ravikanthe Gowda.