Bengaluru: Heavy vehicles ply on city roads in peak hours; 19 die in one month

Bengaluru: Heavy vehicles continue to enter arterial roads in the city despite restrictions by the traffic police on the movement of such vehicles during peak hours, resulting in traffic snarls on congested roads. This has taken the lives of several motorists as well.

Following a series of fatal accidents involving heavy vehicles, the traffic police department has issued a notification banning the entry of heavy vehicles into the city during the day, especially during peak hours from 7 am to 11 am and 4 pm to 10 pm.

The respective police station officers have been instructed to ensure there is no heavy vehicle movement in the city during these hours. In the event of any accident caused by a heavy vehicle, the authorities concerned will be held responsible.

But now, as the orders have not been taken seriously, huge containers, tipper trucks, and heavy vehicles carrying cargo of over seven and a half tonnes of material in the peak hours are chocking the roads in the heart of the city. It is known to the police but they are turning the other way.

Strict action after the death of the deputy news editor Gangadhar Murthy, the deputy editor of the news desk of Vijayawani, was run over by a heavy truck when he was near the Town Hall area. This incident caused outrage among the public over heavy vehicles plying on the city roads. Thus, the Traffic Police Division restricted the entry of heavy vehicles into the city. Also, a few rules were enforced and there was a stringent action taken by traffic cops for everyone to follow. As the incident started fading away, the heavy vehicles continue to ply in the city.

Heavy vehicles from other States are plying on the city's major roads, including Bellary Road, Mekhri Circle, Town Hall, Kamakshipalya and Mysore Road. These vehicles are laden with sewage pipes and other raw materials. Trucks and tippers take sudden turns, go rashly between vehicles, and enter wrong lanes. Earth-movers are another nuisance as they are parked in wrong places and in a wrong way posing a threat to the safety of the people.

Lorries carrying heavy cargo without properly packed or tied are a common sight on chaotic city roads day and night during peak hours. There are very less chances of escaping a major disaster from these heavy vehicles. They pose a great threat to drivers of two-wheelers and small vehicles.

19 deaths in one month

Recently, 14 people including a journalist and a six-year-old girl were crushed to death under the wheels of heavy vehicles. Police records show that heavy vehicles like trucks killed 57 innocent people in 2019, 31 in 2020, the year that witnessed a series of lockdowns because of the Covid pandemic. In 2021, there were 35 deaths.