For over a year now, driving on the Kalamassery-Vallarpadam Container road has been a journey of great discomfort. This, however, is not so much about tankers and container-laden trucks plying on the stretch but these vehicles converting it into a parking area.
Repeated demands notwithstanding, the authorities seem simply not bothered to implement a restructured parking plan as promised earlier. Besides, a proposal to deploy police personnel to monitor parking and regulate traffic along the stretch round the clock has also not materialised.
“The parked trucks are posing a threat to motorists, especially during night times and we have approached the district administration and the city police for a permanent solution to the issue’’, said Joseph Antony, Chairman, Eloor Municipality. Some drivers have resorted to separating the trailers from the trucks and leaving them at the spot for several days, he said.
Haphazard parking aside, many stretches of the four-lane road are yet to be completed, further affecting vehicular traffic. To make matters worse, vehicular movement along the stretch has increased with work on the Kochi metro rail underway on the national highway.
Commenting on the issue, Assistant Commissioner of Traffic K.S. Baby Vinod said that a blanket ban on parking in the area would affect the overall freight movement through the port. “The police have directed the Port Trust to arrange parking space for the trucks operating to the terminal, but no progress has been made on this’’, the officer said.
According to the police, about 600 container carriers operate daily to the point and the port authorities had identified 5.5 acres to accommodate these vehicles.
Apart from causing traffic snarls, chaotic parking often leads to brawls between motorists, even posing law and order problems. Besides, the 17.2-km-long road, which often wears a deserted look, has also turned out to be a haven for criminal activities including murders and ganja trade following which the police have intensified patrolling on the stretch.
Meanwhile, the Public Works Department on Wednesday took up the eviction of encroachments on the sideways of the stretch near the Old Anavathil Junction. The operation, which commenced early in the morning and ended by noon, was carried out amidst heavy police security.
According to officials, the eviction followed a decision to widen the road and erect a traffic signal at the spot. The step was taken up in the wake of an accident at the spot last week, in which a two-wheeler rider died.
