The traffic woes of denizens at Anantapur have rising for the last few years, what with there being an unprecedented increase in the number of vehicles plying on the town’s roads.
It is estimated that more than 20 two-wheelers and a car are added to the town’s roads each day.
“The process of beautification was taken up by the municipal authorities a few years ago, which led to the creation of new traffic islands at most junctions. While they did add beauty to the town, the increasing traffic had carriageway to contend with,” says retired RDO Govindarajulu, a resident of Anantapur.
“It is big problem, especially in the morning hours when the traffic is at its,” says Rajeswari, a lecturer at S.V. Degree college in Anantapur town.
While most internal roads in Anantapur have been re-carpeted or laid afresh lately, the road-width remaining the same is not helping matters.
On the other hand, the railway overbridge near the railway station that connects the HLC Colony to Samantha Nagar is ill-planned, meaning that the level-crossing that was closed down after the inauguration of the bridge had to be re-opened.
Meanwhile, Anantapur Superintendent of Police S. Senthil Kumar told The Hindu that police were in the process of identifying traffic bottlenecks in the town with the help of municipal authorities.
“Once the process is over, we would be able to better control the irregular parking of auto-rickshaws, which pose considerable problems to traffic now,” Mr. Kumar says. He added that police had taken note of the fact that the town needed a few more signals to regulate traffic.
Besides, the town clearly needs a by-pass road that can ensure that at least a few of the APSRTC buses circumvent the internal roads in the town. It also needs one new flyover to create additional space for the increasing traffic in the town.
