Many one-way traffic stretches in Madurai continue to be violated by motorists. This has resulted in freak accidents and, on some occasions, it has even turned into fatal ones, police say. In the absence of very limited broad roads and not many fly-overs, traffic getting choked has been the order of the day.
Understanding the situation, Inspector General and Commissioner of Police (Madurai City), Sanjay Mathur, soon after assuming charge, had introduced certain measures that started giving relief for vehicle users.
Though there was initial resistance from a few residents of Tallakulam to the changes, when the police explained the need for one-way stretch along the Alagarkoil Road and Ghokale Road six months back, the road users were convinced. But what had come as a major setback is the lack of enforcement on the stretch in the recent weeks. This has resulted in rise in violation by motorists of all types, locals blamed. They claimed that many motorists continued to use it as two-way road despite presence of police. Haphazard parking on both sides near the SBI Tallakulam branch area during lunch hours has resulted in lesser carriage space for vehicles to move smoothly towards Tamukkam and Goripalayam side. Absence of traffic police near Tallakulam Perumal Temple has also made pedestrian crossing very difficult. Recently, the police had made the road opposite Fortune Pandiyan Hotel, leading to the Race Course, into no-entry. Vehicles coming from Alagarkoil side and New Natham Road side cannot turn on the Race Course side. However, ignoring the police warning, many vehicle users continue to use the road. Similarly, the one-way around West Perumal Maistry Street, Sambandamoorthy Street and near Goods Shed Street has also been causing problems . At a recent interaction with reporters, the new DCP (traffic) M. Paneerselvam has assured to take steps and set the house in order. But public expect the police to tighten the rope before the situation slips from bad to worse.
