BANGALORE: With the steady growth in population, the city is witnessing an increase in vehicles too, leading to rise in number of vehicles. However, out of many other reasons for traffic congestion in city, this is not the only one, and lack of truck terminal contributes a major share. Heavy goods vehicles like lorries have turned to be a hurdle, hindering the smooth vehicular movement. Nelamangala (Kudugere), Bellary Road (Kogilu), Old Madras Road (Hirandahalli), Hosur Road (Huskur) are some of the roads commonly known for traffic congestion due to trucks.Areas like New Tharagupet (Mandipet), Chamarajpet, Sulthanpet, Kalasipalyam, Mamulpet, Akkipet, Nayandahalli, Jolly Mohalla are some of the examples for traffic snarls in the heart of the city.Needs upgradationWith a motive to address the problems of truckers, D Devarj Urs Truck Terminal, spread over 39 acres was set up in Yeshwantpur in 1992 under the state government. But the terminal now falls short of basic amenities and in spite of regular complaints by various lorry associations, no efforts have been taken by the government to upgrade the only truck terminal in Bangalore.When Express spoke to D Devaraj Urs Truck Terminal Limited, managing director, Nanjunde Gowda regarding the poor maintenance of the terminal, he said, “The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has not maintained the terminal well. We have floated tenders worth `3.30 crore for laying roads, building compound walls and gates, installation of high-mast lights, putting up sign boards at the terminal, and at the police outpost.”The terminal is now maintained by the BBMP by collecting property tax. We have even held a meeting with the BBMP officials and they have assured to look maintenance, Nanjunde Gowda added. Still under wrapsLack of truck terminals has majorly resulted in traffic chaos. Also, queuing up of trucks randomly has encouraged street vendors to set up tea shops on many highways. To provide solutions to many such problems, the state government had issued an order in November 2005, stating that land must be reserved exclusively for truck terminals, when B L Sridhar was the principle secretary of Transport. The government has so far not implemented any rule in this regard. Expressing his grief over this, Nanjunde Gowda added, “Though we regularly write letters to all the district collectors to allot lands adjacent to National Highways for terminals, they have turned deaf to demands.”Association speaksRavishankar Rao Mahadic, president, Bangalore City Lorry Travel Agents’ Association (BCLTAA), told Express, “We have one truck terminal in the city. On an average, more than 30,000 trucks pass through different check posts of Karnataka, of which about 15,000- 20,000 vehicles pass through Bangalore.” Insisting that there is a need to hasten the construction of truck terminal at Dasanapura, BCLTAA secretary, K Srinivas Rao said, “As the vehicles parked on roads have no security, there are many incidents of thefts. Also, drivers and cleaners suffer due to lack of other basic amenities. Terminals have a capacity to hold 250 lorries at a time.” When Express spoke to Additional Commissioner of Police-Traffic Dr M A Saleem, he said, “As there are no sufficient truck terminals in the city, traffic congestion increases due to trucks. We have restricted the entry of trucks into the city from 7.30 am-11.30 am and 4.30 pm to 8.30 pm everyday”. “Peripheral Ring Roads must have terminals along with freight complexes, where goods can be unloaded and transported into the city in small vehicles. Also with this, there will not be no necessity for trucks to enter the city and this will reduce traffic,” Saleem opined.Nanjunde Gowda said “At Dasanapura, 17 acre land has been purchased at a cost of `8 crore and the work for terminal has begun at a cost of `14 crore. Also we have handed over `6 crore to the BDA to acquire lands at Peripheral Ring Roads, at Huskur near Anekal taluk, Hirandahalli near Hoskote, Kogilu near Devanahalli, for truck terminals.” He said possession of land has been delayed by Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), as the court has quashed land acquisition process following protests from villagers against the acquisition by the BDA.Under condition of anonymity, a senior official at DDTL told Express, “Land prices are exorbitant in Bangalore. For an acre of land we need to spend at least Rs 1 crore and for a terminal we need crores of rupees. The returns derived from the terminal from these trucks is not even equal to the interest of the amount we have invested in. Also there are lack of government lands”.
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