It was once a famous junction in the city. With lush landscape, dazzling lights and fountains, it was the pride of the neighbourhood.
With many infrastructure works going on around it, it now has a drab look and seems set to lose it status as a famous landmark.
Parts of the walls at this traffic island are broken. Traffic barricades, old two-wheelers, a pushcart and broken doors are dumped here. The greenery at the roundtana is more brown than green, as nobody seems to be watering the plants. The four-face clock by Gani & Sons is not ticking.
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Two-wheelers and autorickshaws seized by the traffic police lie on the periphery of the roundtana, which now has a traffic booth.
“Previously, for anyone seeking directions to my house, the roundtana was the easiest landmark. Now, with many traffic diversions and road work going on, it is difficult to identify the roundtana,” says L.N. Rajagopalan, a long-time resident of sixth avenue Anna Nagar. He says the roundtana was a small circle in the 1970s. “Its diameter was later widened in the 80s. “Till the early 2000, it was well-maintained,” he says.
The traffic island facilitated smooth movement of traffic for vehicles coming from four directions. Now, although it is only a two-way, traffic there is chaotic.
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“The tower clock inside the roundtana was a big attraction. Sitting at my store, we could see the time. Even if it stopped working, it was repaired,” says Janet Jayaseelan, who runs the store Cherubs at V.S.D. Plaza, which is located opposite the roundtana.
Noel A. Kanagaraj says the traffic island at Anna Nagar was well-defined, was next only to the one Kathipara in this respect.
“All four sides had clear signal definition, which means the width of road was clearly defined,” says Kanagaraj, who has worked with the traffic department to design traffic islands.