Motorists are paying the price for the delay in re-installation of a modern digital traffic signal at the Anna Nagar Police Station, as they have to wait at the busy intersection for a long time, especially during rush hour.
According to police sources, the work is pending due to delay in Zone 8 (Anna Nagar ) of Greater Chennai Corporation giving permission for it.
Without a digital signal, the traffic at the junction is being regulated manually. As a result, many motorists, especially motorcyclists, try to sneak through even before the police personnel has given the go-ahead sign, and this often leads to confusion.
On their part, civic officials say the police has not sought any permission from the Corporation to be allowed to the re-install new traffic signal at the junction.
“As per our knowledge, we are told the junction will continue to have the small roundtana, as against the traffic signal that existed prior to the channel work that was carried out there by a wing of the Public Works Department,” said a Corporation official.
Besides motorists, pedestrians too find it difficult to cross the junction due to the absence of a zebra crossing or a digitally allotted time for them to do so.
“Manual traffic regulation makes us wait longer than usual. A modern digital traffic signal will ensure smooth flow of traffic and will be convenient for motorists,” says K. Preethi, a motorist from Anna Nagar.
Motorists say the lack of a traffic signal has led to accidents at the junction in front of the Anna Nagar police station, which accommodates the offices of the Deputy Commissioner of Police (West Zone) and the Assistant Commissioner of Police (traffic).
It was in February 2015 that the Corporation re-laid the 80-feet stretch between the Government Periphery Hospital and Anna Roundtana, a distance of around 1.5 km.
Over a year ago, the stretch was dug up by the Water Resources Department (WRD), a section of the Public Works Department (PWD) for the construction of the box-type channel to divert excess rainwater from the Otteri Nullah through a link with the Coovum river near Brewery Road in Anna Nagar.
The work was aimed to prevent flooding of the neighbourhood during monsoon. The Rs. 10-crore project was executed by WRD under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) scheme.
