Vandhana S travels from Anna Nagar every day to reach her office on Sterling Road. She crosses Anna Arch and takes a right near Ampa Skywalk to enter Nelson Manickam Road. For the past three months, she, like hundreds of other motorists, struggles to get through the signal as it has not been working.
“We have to rely on the signals by the traffic cops. It’s confusing for us as we do not know when to slow down because those behind us don’t see the cop managing the traffic in the front,” she says. This is not the only non-functioning signal on this road. The traffic signal near Pachaiyappa’s College, another pivotal junction, has not been working for six months.
The Ampa Skywalk signal has remained dysfunctional for three months after the control box was removed due to Metro Rail and other development work. This is one of the busiest sections of the city, where motorists from Anna Nagar and Ambattur, Nolambur take this route to reach Kilpauk, Vepery, Nelson Manickam Road, Nungambakkam and Chetpet.
“There is a constant flow of traffic and somebody has to be present there all the time to ensure smooth flow of traffic. It becomes very difficult for us during rush hour as the drivers sometimes fail to see us as we manually manage the traffic,” says a source from the traffic police.
Further down the stretch, near Pachaiyappa’s College, the situation is the same. The length of the stretch is already compromised due to Metrorail work. “The control box was hit by a lorry and it is kept inside the Metro Rail premises. This happened six months ago and the signal is not working since then,” says a police personnel.
People have to cross the signal to reach hospitals such as General Hospital and Kilpauk Medical Hospital and the absence of a cop can be a big handicap.
“We have to be here from 6 a.m. and manually manage everything. It will be even more difficult for us during summer,” says a policeman. Interestingly, the road is used by the top cops.
For instance, the City Commissioner S. George uses the road to reach his office at E.V.K. Sampath Road, Vepery. However, police personnel manually manage the traffic, being connected through their walkie-talkies.
“Many share autorickshaws are functioning in this area and they act according to their own whims and fancies, adding to the chaos. We want these signals to be working soon as hundreds of people use it,” says Kumar, a resident of Aminjikarai.
