The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : `Licence' to drive as you please in Tolichowki

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Oct 24, 2006
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

`Licence' to drive as you please in Tolichowki

Marri Ramu

No traffic signals, no road markings... the area is too accident-prone

FREE FOR ALL: Lack of traffic regulation results in chaos at Tolichowki junction in the city. — PHOTO: P.V. Sivakumar

HYDERABAD: Tolichowki's list of traffic troubles is long. Heavy vehicles cause frequent accidents here and hawkers encroach into road space, choking the junction. But, what makes this intersection dangerous is lack of basic arrangements for smooth flow of traffic.

No traffic signal post, no zebra crossings and not even road markings. A recent accident that left one person dead and five persons injured at this crossroads brought these defects to limelight.

A reason for ire

"Locals set the lorry responsible for the accident afire. Everybody condemned the action. But none realised the frustration behind their act," a cloth storeowner Saleem said. The trader argued that the accident could have been averted if traffic signals were there.

Since the junction is connected to Mumbai highway on northern side and leads to Rethibowli linked to Bangalore highway, many trucks pass through it. "Since there are no traffic signals, the chances for accidents are high," DCP Traffic Anil Kumar said.

The DCP added that the municipal authorities were requested to look into the matter many times, but action was still to be taken.

Traffic engineers believe that a traffic signal would not ease congestion here. A foot-over-bridge or a sub-way is essential for pedestrians to cross the road because the Gachibowli-Mehdipatnam and the Qutub Shahi tombs-Shaikpet routes are always bustling with vehicles.

Another reason for the chaotic traffic scenario is the `labourer adda' and two hotels abutting the main road. Hundreds of labourers assemble here looking out for work forcing vehicles to slow down.

Customers coming to the hotels park their vehicles on the road further shrinking the road space.

Some locals cut the road divider creating gaps in between. Vehicle drivers use these gaps to cross the road, further compounding the chaos.

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