Bangalore has the worst managed vehicular traffic in Asia. Or so say some surveys.
Several studies, which indicate that the city has the worst managed traffic in Asia, attribute this mess to bad planning and inefficient traffic cops.
In this backdrop, the unveiling of the 'people's car' -- Tata Nano -- by Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata on January 10, has stirred up quite a debate among those who think the car is good for the nation and those who think the opposite.
The Nano might have put a smile on millions of faces across the nation, but the traffic police in Bangalore is definitely not amused.
According to statistics available with the traffic department, vehicular population in Bangalore has increased by 280 per cent over the last one year: of these, almost 70 per cent of the vehicles were two-wheelers.
With the launch of the Rs 1-lakh car, several persons who have been riding two-wheelers are now contemplating the purchase of this car as it is quite affordable.
Says Ravi Shankar Prasad, a school teacher in the Malleshwaram area in Bangalore: "I drop my two kids to school and then ferry my wife to office on my two-wheeler. The rise in traffic has made it extremely unsafe and there is always this sense of fear when I ride with all of them on my scooter. The launch of the Nano is a pleasant surprise and I will go in for it as I can afford it." There are many who echo Prasad's sentiment.
The Bangalore police expects at least 40 per cent of the two-wheeler riders in the city to switch over to the Rs 1-lakh car in the next two years.
Currently, there are around 21 lakh (2.1 million) two-wheelers and about 5 lakh (500,000) cars on Bangalore roads: if 40 per cent of the two-wheeler owners switch over to four-wheelers, it would mean that there would around 14 lakh (1.4 million)
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