Traffic snarls have become the order of the day at a number of places on the city stretch of the Tiruchi - Thanjavur National highway, particularly in and around Tiruverumbur area which is thickly populated with the mushrooming growth of residential colonies all around.
The absence of service road has created bottlenecks at many places, particularly at the Oil Mill bus stop where the vehicle users are forced to violate all safety norms by driving their vehicles in the opposite direction. Educational institutions contribute to the sharp increase in the volume of vans and buses plying during peak hours.
The gravity of the traffic snarls can be gauged from the fact that at least two traffic constables and one Home Guard are pressed into service at the important junctions daily.
Local residents say that setting up an automatic traffic signal would be ideal for regulating traffic particularly at Kattur. But, being a national highway, the possibility for setting up traffic signals is remote. But for the meticulous efforts of the traffic police personnel, traffic snarls would turn chaotic. The stretch between Palpannai traffic island and the BHEL roundabout falls under the jurisdiction of both City and Rural police wings. While the road up to the Oil Mill area falls under the City police limits, the road beyond the Oil Mill falls under the Rural police wing.
Adequate strength of police personnel had been posted for the Tiruchi Rural wing. The cooperation from the Home Guards supplements the efforts of the Rural police in regulating the traffic.
The police have been organising road safety awareness campaigns in and around Tiruverumbur periodically. “But violations in the form of parking of vehicles and four-wheelers has been a challenge. Being an affluent area, a large number of people own cars and two-wheelers in this belt,” the police say.
