Though public exasperation over the traffic congestion in Thripunithura is consistently voiced at grama sabha meetings held in the wards of the municipality, the issue continues to remain unresolved.
All the arterial roads leading to Thripunithura get clogged during peak hours. The Hill Palace Road on the eastern side, the Vaikom Road on the southern side, the Seaport-Airport Road and the main Petta-S.N. Junction Road have slow-moving traffic.
The municipal council had discussed the issue many times, held meetings with the traffic police, but to no avail.
R. Chandrika Devi, chairperson of Thripunithura Municipality, said a meeting would be held with the police soon to find solutions to the issue.
Of all the the major projects that had been envisaged for bypassing the traffic outside Thripunithura town, only a part of the mini bypass has been completed.
While the Kochi-Madurai Highway still seems like a distant dream, the Bund Road from Mamala to Chithrapuzha, Irimpanam that is expected to de-congest Thiruvamkualm-Karingachira stretch and expansion of the Poothotta-S.N. Junction Road that would ease traffic have been notified in the State Budget with allocations of ₹75 crore and ₹300 crore respectively.
The extension of Kochi Metro to S.N. Junction is also crucial.
V.C. Jayendran, convener of Thripunithura Rajanagari Union of Residents’ Associations (TRURA), said the Bund Road should be extended up to Manakkapady from Chithrapuzha, or else Puthiya Road Junction will become a traffic bottleneck.
According to TRURA, the earlier reforms implemented by the city police made the people take circuitous routes to travel short distances.
