The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : More of an obstruction now Law & order

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Tamil Nadu

More of an obstruction now Law & order

They have resulted in freak accidents at a few places, writes L. Srikrishna

Non-removal of welcome arches erected in the city has resulted in freak accidents at a few places. Traffic was also paralysed at many points because of the arches, motorists complained on Friday.

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) functionaries erected huge arches and hoardings at vantage points for the function conducted at Tammukam Grounds in the city on August 6 to felicitate playback singer T.M. Soundararajan.

Prior to the function, policemen and officers numbering over 3,000 were deployed from various places. The vehicular traffic was either regulated or diverted at many road junctions. Heavy vehicles such as lorries and container trucks were not permitted into the city.

A consumer activist said that the arches, hoardings and banners welcoming the VIPs and other dignitaries were on display since August 1. Even after the function was over, they had not removed them, causing inconvenience to road users, he said.

Fatal fall

On Thursday, a worker, V. Kamaraj (30) of Ambedkar Colony, Pasumalai, had a fatal fall while he was engaged in removing one of the tube lights put up for the function on a bridge, police said.

In another incident on Alagarkoil Road , a speeding vehicle hit a worker who had just removed a banner from the welcome arch and was trying to cross the road. He suffered multiple injuries and was rushed to a nearby hospital.

The presence of a huge arch on East Veli Street was knocked down by a container lorry on Friday afternoon. As a result, vehicular movement came to a standstill on the stretch. A lone policeman found it difficult in diverting the vehicles.

Similarly, an arch installed on North Veli Street fell over a stationary van, badly damaging the vehicle. A traffic policeman said that many arches were made of steel rods and wrapped with party clothes and other materials.

Though the road leading to the New Natham Road was blocked since August 1 by the police for the function to unveil former Speaker P. T. R. Palanivelrajan’s statue at the Indian Oil Corporation roundabout, traffic was not permitted even on August 8, some of the motorists said.

A senior police officer said that they had informed the office-bearers of the DMK about the need to remove them. When contacted, a DMK office-bearer said that all flex boards were removed on the night of the function itself.

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