The Kalapatti Road connecting Sathy Road and Avinashi Road at SITRA Junction is known as ‘VIP Road,’ as it is used by political leaders and top officials from the State and Union Governments to go to Udhagamandalam, from the Coimbatore International Airport.
Chief Minister Jayalalithaa too used to use the road to go to Kodanad when she does not take a helicopter.
“Only during VIP visits we see dozens of policemen regulating traffic here. Rest of the days, we face hardships,” says J. Ramesh of Nehru Nagar.
Crossing the Nehru Nagar Junction on Kalapatti Road is an uphill task for the hundreds of vehicles using the road daily. The junction has two smaller roads connecting Cheran Maa Nagar, and Veeriyampalayam.
Traffic congestion starts around 7.30 a.m. and is unmanageable for the next three hours, a two-wheeler consultant there said.
The road has nearly 20 schools and colleges.
Buses from institutions, staff buses from more than 50 industrial units, besides two-wheelers, and other vehicles use the road during that time. Many don’t reach the destination on time due to congestion.
As trucks are denied entry to the city till 11 a.m. they try to pass the junction well ahead of that time, adding to the congestion.
“At times vehicles get piled up for more than 2 km on either side of the junction. It takes 45 minutes to an hour to cross the stretch. It is worse on auspicious days, and during weekends,” adds P. Ramesh Kumar of Chinniyampalayam who drops his children in a school there.
No police
“Vehicles move bumper to bumper and often bump into each other while trying to sneak in as there is no policeman to regulate traffic. Such incidents result in minor clashes that add to the congestion. The road widening work is underway. But, traffic should be regulated by the police at the junction during the peak hours,” says J. Rajavel, a social activist in the locality. The traffic police said that they would work out means to deploy constables to regulate traffic at the Nehru Nagar Junction.
