PRE-LOCKDOWN RUSH

PRE-LOCKDOWN RUSH

Crowded toll booths allow free passage

RETURN TO INDOORS Many Exit City Fearing They’d Be Trapped Without Cash Again, Others Gear Up To Work From & For Home

Rajiv.Kalkod@timesgroup.com

Bengaluru:  14.07.2020

All roads led out of Bengaluru or so it appeared on Monday, as most thoroughfares witnessed huge outbound vehicular movement. With the city slated to go under lockdown from Tuesday evening, hundreds of Bengalureans set out for their towns and villages in other districts.

Tumakuru Road connecting to several districts of north and coastal Karnataka and Hosur Road leading to Tamil Nadu witnessed the maximum traffic flow. Owing to the heavy pileup of vehicles, staffers at two toll plazas on Nelamangala expressway of Tumakuru Road allowed for free passage of vehicles.

Traffic police sources said that between 5am and 6pm, 65,000 vehicles crossed their gates as against the usual 15,000-20,000 on other days.

“At one stage, the vehicles that had to move through Parle G toll plaza queued up for up to 5km till Goraguntepalya. Things eased a bit after 11am when the gates were opened for free passage. Still there was a bumperto-bumper crawl on the elevated highway. It took more than an hour to travel between Goraguntepalya and the toll gate, a distance of around 5km,” Peenya traffic police said.

“Two reasons led to heavy outbound traffic. First, because there was a curfew on Sunday and second, because Tuesday will see the beginning of another lockdown. Those looking to move out of the city opted for Monday. We expect the same rush on Tuesday too,” a senior traffic police officer told TOI. Toll plazas on Electronics City elevated expressway along Hosur Road also reported huge rush of exiting vehicles.

Pooja Girish, a software engineer, said she was heading to Thirthahalli, her hometown. “I think the lockdown will continue even after July 22. My company has permitted me to work from home. So, my three friends and I have decided to travel to Thirthahalli and stay with my parents,” she said. Panduranga Shetty, a coconut merchant from Yeshwantpur, said he will return to the city only after it’s free from Covid-19. Shetty was travelling to Tiptur in a goods truck with his wife and two daughters. “I have temporarily closed down my business and returning to my hometown. I will work in agricultural fields until the city becomes virus-free,” he said.

GOODBYE FOR NOW: Toll plazas on Nelamangala expressway saw massive traffic on Monday as many left the city lock, stock, and barrel