Frequent jams around ORR spill on to connecting roads, make school travel a nightmare for children

The ripple effect of traffic from the Outer Ring Road (ORR), coupled with narrow lanes, has become a major concern for commuters on connecting roads, particularly for school buses, as vehicles crawl along these stretches every day during peak hours.

For instance, hundreds of school buses operate in and around Doddakannalli, Adarsh Palm Retreat, and beyond. The stretches in this area are frequent victims of ORR-induced congestion and increased movement of vehicles on the connecting roads, which try to avoid the ORR.

Three major roads connect to the ORR through this zone: Doddakannalli–Bellandur Road, Ambalipura–Sarjapura Road, and Doddakannalli–Kadubeesanahalli Road via Devarabeesanahalli Road.

50 school buses

Priyanka Bhargav, an employee of a private company in the area and parent of a schoolgirl, explained that there are at least 50 schools within a 10-km radius, some of which have between 500 and 1,000 students. “To transport them, hundreds of buses operate in the area, adding to the existing traffic. As a result, travel time in the evening can take two or more hours to cover just 6 to 8 km,” she told The Hindu.

“This week, a seven-year-old child who sits next to my eight-year-old daughter felt claustrophobic during a prolonged bus journey. In such situations, all they have for company are other children who are more or less the same age,” she added.

Crying during commute

Tahnee Nagaich, a class 11 student at a private school in Gunjur who resides in Adarsh Palm Retreat, described her daily commute to school and back as a “nightmare”. “Forget about us, it’s heartbreaking to see primary school children in our bus going through such hardships. We have children crying during the commute on a regular basis,” she said.

Ms. Nagaich further added that teenage girls face different challenges. “If girls are on their periods and need to access a washroom during such traffic jams, where should we go?” she asked. “There are also neurodivergent children who struggle during these nightmarish journeys and start crying,” she added.

“I was born and brought up in Bengaluru, but I have never seen such terrible traffic,” she said.

Adding to this, Namratha (name changed), another resident of Adarsh Palm Retreat, said her friend’s children were stuck in traffic on Doddakannalli Road for two hours on Wednesday. She eventually had to pick them up herself, as it would have taken even longer for them to reach home.

“When I went to pick them up, I saw children crying because they couldn’t get home. The bus had become suffocating,” Ms. Namratha said.

Need clearance

Gopal M. Byakod, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South), admitted that traffic congestion on the ORR’s connecting roads is a persistent issue, compounded by several bottlenecks, including the AET junction and ongoing infrastructure works. “Traffic personnel are at all these junctions, but many smaller roads also need clearance. Our personnel have to keep patrolling these stretches, which means at least one bottleneck often remains unmanned,” he explained.

To address the issue, the police are working with the Greater Bengaluru Authority and are expected to come up with a solution soon, according to Mr. Byakod.