Despite promise, signal not repaired

If the defunct traffic signal at Iblur on the Outer Ring Road-Sarjapur Main Road junction is any indication, it seems the Bangalore City Traffic Police are lethargic in getting the signal repaired for effective traffic regulation and discipline.
Confusion prevails for motorists at the junction as the traffic signal is defunct since over one-and-a-half months. It may be recalled that Cityplus had reported about the defunct traffic signal in its January 7 edition - 'Iblur junction most chaotic' -- on Page 1. The electric cable of the traffic signal was damaged due to the excavation work undertaken by BWSSB to lay a pipeline for Cauvery drinking water. The traffic police had even promised in the first week of January that the signal would be set right in a week's time. However, nothing has been done as yet.
Since then, the junction that witnesses high vehicular density during peak hours is being regulated manually by a traffic constable and a traffic warden of the Outer Ring Road Companies' Association. The defunct traffic signal has increased the chances of road accidents on the IT Corridor, as the junction is a point of major intersection.
Even after one-and-a-half months, there is no sign of repairing the traffic signal by the department concerned. It seems the motorists should wait for another fortnight for the traffic signal to be functional.
Madivala Traffic Police Inspector KC Lakshminarayan told Cityplus that the repair was being delayed by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), which had installed the traffic signal and is in-charge of its maintenance. "BEL should repair the damaged electric cable of the traffic signal and we have told them so. BWSSB is ready to bear the expenses for the repair, which will be around ` 4,000," he added.
He said that regulating traffic manually at the junction is difficult in the absence of signal especially during the night. "There will be traffic chaos if there is no signal. We hope to get the repair done within February-end," the inspector said.

Police version
Madivala Traffic Police Inspector KC Lakshminarayan told Cityplus that the repair was being delayed by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), which had installed the traffic signal and is in-charge of its maintenance.

--CITYPLUS NEWSDESK