The alternative road to Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) is a popular choice for people travelling to the airport as it is toll-free. But since its inauguration in March 2018, it has also gained notoriety following multiple incidents of taxi drivers harassing women passengers.
In the wake of the brutal murder of an event manager from Kolkata in July — the case was cracked and the driver was arrested on Friday, the police have asked the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to light up the entire route by erecting streetlights and installing CCTV cameras to record vehicles using the road.
Bheemashankar S. Guled, DCP (North-East), told The Hindu that the measures have been taken to increase patrolling on the route.
However, people travelling to KIA early in the morning or late at night, especially women, say that more needs to be done to ensure their safety. For one, finding an app-based taxi in the wee hours is not always easy. The victim, Pooja Singh Dey, who was in Bengaluru for work and was scheduled to fly back home on July 31, had requested the driver of a cab aggregator to pick her up while he was off duty. As he was not on the app while ferrying her, he planned to rob her.
“This is a very real fear when we go to the airport at odd hours. Last year, there were many incidents of drivers abusing passengers and one had even made an attempt to kidnap a passenger. The recent murder is very scary,” said Anuradha, a frequent traveller to the airport.
Ensuring that the alternate road is well lit will help. “Barring a few kilometres, the road has no proper streetlight. Cab aggregators must have a mechanism to make a verification call to passengers the moment a driver uses the road,” said Chaitra N., a software engineer from Bengaluru.
Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) officials maintain that their 'Vayu Varja' AC bus service to the airport is a safe option for citizens. K.R. Vishwanth, Chief Traffic Manager (operations), BMTC, said, “We operate 104 buses on various routes. Every day, more than 10,000 people travel in our buses. Barring a few hours at night, the service is available on all the routes.”
No clue about panic buttons
In January, the Transport Department had extended to July 31 the deadline for public transport services, including cabs operated by aggregators, to install a panic button and a vehicle tracking system. However, many public transport operators are yet to comply.
Transport Commissioner V.P. Ikkeri said, “As its a central rule, we had written to the Centre seeking direction on its implementation. We will appraise the State government on the matter and follow instructions accordingly.”
Earlier, the department had come under criticism for introducing the rules without a control room to monitor the tracking devices or a mechanism to connect panic alerts to the police control room. To date, no steps have been taken on this matter.
