The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Coimbatore News : Demand for scheme roads

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Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore

Demand for scheme roads

Special Correspondent

PROBLEM ZONE: The demand for scheme and ring roads is being made as arterial roads such as Avanashi Road is congested with traffic.

COIMBATORE: Councillors of the Coimabtore Corporation and a citizens’ group have demanded scheme roads in the city to match the increase in the number of vehicles.

Making this demand at a recent meeting of the Corporation Council, Communist Party of India (Marxist) councillor C. Padmanabhan lamented that no scheme road project had been implemented for over a decade.

“I have been a councillor for the last 13 years. I have seen a single scheme road project being implemented during this period,” he said.

The councillor urged the Corporation to take up such road projects immediately.

Fund

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam councillor P. Rajkumar said Rs.30 crore to Rs.40 crore of the Coimbatore Corporation was with the Local Planning Authority.

The fund was meant for development works such as scheme roads in the city. Scheme roads must be laid to decongest the existing roads in the city, he said.

Outside the Council, the Residents Awareness Association (RAAC) of Coimbatore, gave a similar call.

Vice-president of the association R.R. Balasundaram pointed out that Coimbatore was a major manufacturing city in the country. It was witnessing a rapid growth in the economic activity.

Vehicles

The roads were already congested and the number of vehicles was certain to increase.

Ring roads and more than 100 scheme roads were planned in 1994 Master Plan of Coimbatore.

But, unfortunately, nothing much had happened so far.

In 1997, the Director of Town and Country Planning had commissioned the then Pallavan Transport Corporation to carry out a Comprehensive Traffic and Transportation Study for Coimbatore Local Planning Area.

Suggestions

The study suggested various facilities such as roads and ring roads.

But, none was taken up.

When the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) schemes were announced, RAAC made various suggestions on road traffic improvement.

Many of these suggestions were included in the JNNURM.

These included 13 missing link roads that were expected to decongest the arterial roads.

Solution

These and the proposed outer ring and inner ring roads must be laid to provide a long-term solution to the present traffic congestion in the city.

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