Is it right, not right, or a U?

BANGALORE: One man’s poison is another man’s treasure. One could say that the traffic police in the city may be working on that very thought under the supervision of the additional commissioner of police, MA Saleem.The latest entrant on the list of ‘changed directions’ is Infantry Road. Less than a week ago the right towards Infantry Road from Dr Ambedkar Road was blocked. “On Saturday, I was unable to take a right onto Infantry Road while I was on my way back from K R Circle. The traffic police had blocked the way. As a result I had to take a U-turn further ahead. To make matters worse that too was blocked. When asked why the change in routine, the traffic in-charge there mentioned that it was done due to the orders passed on by his seniors,” said Vijay Reddy, a commuter. He added that the very least the officials could have done was inform commuters about the change.Clarifying on the change and pacifying the public’s frustration due to the change, Saleem said that it was only on an experimental basis. “Blocking the right towards Infantry Road is to ease the traffic congestion on Infantry Road,” he informed. Explaining the principle, he said that by barring the right turn, more time can be given for vehicles to cross the junction. “Instead of having a three-signal corridor, we are studying what the two-signal change would yield,” he added.There is no gain without pain. Regardless of a few angry commuter’s rants, the traffic has considerably reduced or is at least moving on an otherwise bumper to bumper traffic on Infantry Road. The change will be implemented only during peak hours or during heavy traffic hours.Apart from Infantry Road, the traffic police has also barred ten to twelve other U-turns in the city over the last one month, some of which are: The U-turn in front of Diamond District on Old Airport Road and the U-turn after Banaswadi flyover near IOC.