Tamil Nadu - Tiruchi

Making a mess of traffic

—Photo: M. Moorthy

HASTE IS WASTE: A commuter boarding a bus in motion in Tiruchi.

TIRUCHI: City traffic plans at best yield only partial results. Violation of traffic rules, particularly by two-wheelers, racing city buses bad roads and haphazard parking of vehicles are some of the reasons.

Traffic management at the Main Guard Gate, the commercial hub of the city is praiseworthy. Installation of automatic traffic signals and the presence of policemen have been facilitating the smooth flow of a huge volume of traffic.

However, unscheduled bus stops _ even on main thoroughfares _ in other parts of the city eclipse the positive steps. The authorities do not seem to evince interest in acting on the vital cause of traffic chaos and accidents.

Stoppage of city and mofussil buses (bound for Salem, Thanjavur, and Pudukottai) near Mutharaiyar Statue, not far from the bus stop in front of the Employment Exchange is a striking instance of the risk that road-users face.

Similar is the situation at the Railway Junction roundabout. A majority of town buses proceeding to Central bus stand avoid the junction where a bus stop is located. Instead, they drop and pick up passengers at the roundabout, causing congestion on the busy Bharathiar Road.

Likewise, in the Head Post Office area, a major road junction, both city and mofussil buses halt to pick up passengers at unscheduled stops in all the four directions, rendering the automated traffic signal meaningless. A large number of buses pass through this route and it is chaos in the evening hours.

At Ariyamangalam, an unscheduled bus stop is situated at the starting point of the road over-bridge.

The buses, waiting for passengers, cause anxiety to other vehicle-users on the over-bridge.

What is the reason for such bus stops? The travelling public, bus crew, police and transport department are equally responsible. People feel that the transport department and police should immediately address the issue and ensure that traffic hold-ups do not occur.

“Unscheduled halts, no doubt, are a nuisance to all sections of the society. They should be avoided. The Government authorities should convene the traffic advisory committee meetings regularly to discuss such issues too, observes C. Ramalingam, a resident.

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