Bengaluru: For 51-year-old KK Sajir, a heart attack turned into a desperate race against time. But on a stretch of road notorious for traffic snarls, there was nowhere for his friends to go.Around 11 pm Monday, Sajir was travelling in a Bolero pickup with his friend Najaf towards Hosur to meet another friend. As they approached Chandapura on NH-44, they took the flyover. Minutes later, Sajir complained of severe chest pain. The pain soon became unbearable, and he told Najaf he could no longer drive.Najaf did not know how to drive. He began desperately seeking help, but vehicles quickly piled up behind them, leaving the Bolero trapped in the traffic jam on the flyover. Traffic barely moved. What made the situation even more agonising was that a hospital stood directly below the flyover.“There was a hospital right below the flyover. But they were stuck on top of it. They simply could not get down,” said Saleem Malik, a friend of Sajir and Najaf and a member of the All Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre.Najaf frantically waved at motorists behind them, pleading for help, and called the emergency number 108. But the congestion on Hosur Road left him with little room to manoeuvre.“He kept telling people to help him. He could see the hospital below but could not reach it. Nobody could do anything in the bumper-to-bumper traffic for nearly 35 minutes,” said Malik, who reached the spot in an autorickshaw after being alerted by Najaf. In fact, it took Malik nearly 55 minutes to reach Sajir’s Bolero because of the traffic jam. By the time Sajir was moved into an autorickshaw and taken to the hospital, it was too late. Doctors declared him dead.For Sajir, the distance to emergency care was less but the traffic jam on the flyover became an insurmountable barrier. The tragedy has once again exposed the deadly consequences of Bengaluru’s notorious traffic congestion, particularly along the heavily crowded Hosur Road corridor.A former supermarket owner and native of Kannur in Kerala, Sajir had come to Bengaluru in search of a job. He is survived by his wife Rahina and six children. His last rites were conducted in his hometown on Tuesday. “The traffic was so bad, it just took my friend away forever,” Malik lamented.What is causing jam on Hosur Road?
NHAI has attributed a significant part of the recent congestion to the railway overbridge (ROB) being constructed by K-RIDE as part of the Byappanahalli-Hosur railway doubling project
With traffic snarls worsening on the Hosur Road stretch near Chandapura, agencies involved in ongoing infrastructure works have begun trading blame over what is causing the congestion.The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has attributed a significant part of the recent congestion to the railway overbridge (ROB) being constructed by K-RIDE as part of the Byappanahalli-Hosur railway doubling project. K-RIDE, however, has rejected the claim, saying its temporary structures have not encroached upon the carriageway.According to NHAI, construction work for the road infrastructure near the railway bridge can be taken up only after K-RIDE completes its work at the location. K-RIDE managing director Lakshman Singh said the railway construction was not responsible for the traffic congestion. He said the temporary structures had been placed in the median and outside the road boundary and therefore did not obstruct traffic.“The width of the National Highway is inconsistent and the temporary structures do not affect traffic. They are placed in the median and outside the road boundaries,” Singh said. The local police, however, have a different assessment. Surya Nagar police said the ongoing railway construction was contributing significantly to the congestion and that they had temporarily asked the agency to halt work following the recent rains.
