Completion of a major part of four-laning at Tiruverumbur town along Tiruchi-Thanjavur Highway by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has, no doubt, eased the traffic flow to a tremendous extent.
But, the absence of the service lane on one side of the carriage way has become too glaring. For vehicles proceeding towards Thanjavur that go down the road overbridge, overtaking becomes difficult at the entrance to the railway station. Free movement of vehicles to and from the railway station hinges on construction of the service lane, according to Raja, a local trader.
Since the authorities had gone about clearing encroachments on the other side of the carriageway without any inhibition, public wonder what stops them from performing the task to completion. Only after the construction of the service lane will the railway authorities be in a position to erect an arch at the entrance. A clear frontage to the railway station is what BHEL Tiruchi has been waiting for to fulfil its promise to beautify the place with landscaping and lighting.
In fact, this time around, there is no pressure from the trading community to the NHAI to stall the clearing of encroachments. Many of the shop owners have already expanded their outlets on to the rear side, according to Anbalagan, Coordinator of Tiruverumbur Taluk Development Committee.
The paths leading to the road underpass on either side of the carriageway have also not been blacktopped so far. Construction of the service lane and broadening the road leading to the railway station are prerequisites for prevailing upon the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation to let buses inside the railway station, according to Shanmugavelu, social activist.
