The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : NH 67 becoming a ‘deadly’ stretch

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Sep 12, 2007
ePaper

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

NH 67 becoming a ‘deadly’ stretch

L. Renganathan

Police warn some private buses on speed limit

Police should ensure that no vehicle jumps the queue on either side of Lalapet level crossing.

KARUR: Increased volume of traffic, particularly heavy vehicles, is causing frequent accidents on the Tiruchi-Karur stretch of the National Highway (NH) 67.

Closure of the Periyar Bridge between Musiri in Tiruchi district and Kulithalai in Karur district across the Cauvery has significantly contributed to the rise in number of road mishaps in the past few days. Consequently, police have enforced speed regulations between Chintalavadi and Thimmachipuram in a bid to prevent accidents.

Police warned some private buses bursting the speed limit over the weekend.

Every other day an accident takes place claiming the lives of pedestrians, motorists or the vehicle crew.

On Monday too, one person, Ram Mohan Raj (35) of Dheeran Nagar, Tiruchi, was killed on the spot when the tanker he was driving collided with a lorry proceeding to load sand near Krishnarayapuram on the NH 67.

Usually the NH 67 stretch connecting Tiruchi-Karur-Coimbatore is busy round the clock.

The road is the link to Kerala and a lot of pilgrims take the road to reach Nagore and Vailankanni.

Also, sand laden lorries and other heavy vehicles use the road. While the Bridge was partially closed to traffic for the past few months, heavy vehicular traffic has been completely stopped on the bridge since August 30 to facilitate repair works.

With the closure of the Periyar Bridge, vehicles from the Manapparai-Dindigul road that need to reach Musiri, Namakkal or Salem are now forced to make a detour touching Karur.

A few weeks back not many sand quarries were in operation as the Cauvery was in spate.

But now quarries are being operated at Kattalai and Marudur in Karur district and Pettaivathalai in Tiruchi district.

The quarries lie adjacent to the NH 67.

That apart lorries ferrying sand from the quarries on the Coleroon in Tiruchi district prefer to take the NH 67 increasing the stress.

Frequent snarls

All these cause frequent traffic snarls on the Kulithalai-Karur stretch especially at the Lalapet Railway level-crossing where increased police presence and regularisation is immediately required.

Most importantly, police deployed there should ensure that no vehicle jumps the queue on either side of the level crossing. Quite regularly, Government and private buses from Tiruchi overtake the vehicles waiting in the queue and park parallel to the river blocking oncoming traffic _ right under the nose of the policemen who allow them possibly to meet the tight time schedules.

These days any traffic snarl in the Lalapet area following closure of the gates takes at least half an hour to get cleared, consequently increasing the travel time between Tiruchi and Karur or Coimbatore.

It seems police are taking some efforts to address the issue and sources said that speed restrictions are to be enforced on the Kulithalai-Mayanur stretch.

The heavy vehicles are allowed to ply at a maximum speed of 40 km per hour.

But that is highly impossible and anyone who had travelled in a private bus between Karur and Tiruchi could vouch.

They simply fly throwing to wind all traffic norms. None has dared to rein in them and even on Sunday a couple of errant private buses that flouted the sped norms were let off simply with a caution.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail