Amidst growing criticism, the Kerala Road Safety Authority (KRSA) has sought the approval of the Election Commission for convening a meeting to accord formal sanction for installing traffic signals along the recently widened Karamana-Pravachambalam stretch.
Since the completion of its construction, the 5.5-km stretch has witnessed several accidents, of which many were attributed to the delay in installing traffic signals at the major junctions as well as the lack of traffic safety measures.
Officials of the City Traffic police said that while the number of collisions among vehicles had decreased significantly on the accident-prone stretch, fatalities involving pedestrians had begun to show an upward trend.
Attempts made to regulate traffic manually throughout the day by deploying traffic wardens could not be seen as a permanent solution, sources said.
The Kerala State Electronics Development Corporation (Keltron) had submitted an estimate of Rs.1.10 crore for installing traffic signals nearly six months ago. After being approved by the Public Works Department and the Kerala Police, the project estimate had been forwarded to the KRSA, which is yet to take the matter up for discussion. It is in this context that the consent of the Election Commission has been sought with the authority being chaired by the Transport Minister.
However, reliable sources were of the view that the chances of the meeting being convened before the upcoming elections appeared bleak. “Under the existing circumstances, it is likely that the formal approval for the installation of the traffic signals and sanction of the required funds will be made only after the new government assumes charge,” an official said.
Safety measures
Residents associations and traders have been on agitation mode against the delay in implementing safety measures. Rajesh, who runs a pharmacy outlet in Pappanamcode, criticised the haste shown by the government in formally inaugurating the stretch without installing traffic signals.
“While political parties spare no efforts in claiming credit for any project that has been undertaken, it is unfortunate that no thought was given for the safety of road users,” he lamented.
Shakuntala Devi, a resident of Pappanamcode, said that crossing the road, especially during the late hours, was highly perilous. With the academic year approaching, the lack of safety measures could pose serious threat to a large number of students, she cautioned.
