The most frequented tourist destination in the city is the Ramakrishna Beach that stretches over a length of five km from the Naval Coast Battery to the VUDA Park. Even the locals flock to the stretch to chill out with family and friends on weekends.
But a recent move by the traffic cops has put both tourists and locals to a lot of discomfort. The police have banned the entry of autorickshaws onto the Beach Road from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
RK Beach has many spots such as the Gokul Park, Kali Temple and Children’s Park and a number of eateries spread across the 5-km stretch. According to Arunabh Chatterjee, a tourist from Kolkata, the new development has put him into a lot of inconvenience. “Last time when I visited the city about three years ago, we engaged an auto and visited each of the spots. But this time it was a sweaty experience, as we had to walk almost the entire stretch,” he said.
But the police have their own version.
According to Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (traffic) K. Mahendra Patrudu, the reason from banning the autos on weekends was due to the indisciplined driving of the autos.
“On weekends, the rush is heavy and on top of that the auto drivers do not adhere to the parking norms and stop their vehicles according to their whims and fancy. To curb this menace we have banned the plying of autos on weekends,” he said.
Mr. Patrudu informed The Hindu that autos were being allowed up to 50 metres before the Beach Road and were being allowed to ply on the parallel intersecting roads. “Yes there are a few spots where the distance may be a bit longer and people may have to walk a bit. But the idea is to create a better ambience. Moreover, we are allowing autos carrying travellers with luggage, sick or old people,” said the ADCP.
D. Srinivas Rao who lives on the Beach Road, however, feels that authorities should maintain a pool of autos to ferry people across the stretch.
