It’s around 9 a.m. on Friday. The lone traffic policeman stationed at the junction near the Forest Department Headquarters at Vazhuthacaud moved away from his position. And motorists bustled past others in a disorderly manner.
The vehicles, headed in three directions, began scurrying about to get past the busy junction. Sensing the disarray, the policeman returned.
The frequent trouble could be resolved by operating the solar-powered traffic signal installed by the Kerala Road Safety Authority (KRSA) for Rs.11 lakh. The junction is close to the Cotton Hill Government Girls Higher Secondary School, other educational institutions, Survey Bhavan, Forest Department headquarters, and the Kerala Police headquarters. A private club is located at the mouth of the junction.
The road leads to the Military Station at Pangode. The thoroughfare heads towards the residences of Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala, former Defence Minister A.K. Antony, and Transport Commissioner and Road Safety Commissioner, R. Sreelekha.
The junction lies on the Vellayambalam-Vazhuthacaud-Thycaud corridor, an alternate road to MG Road during dharnas and processions organised in front of the Secretariat.
Satheesh, a motorist, says the public have not benefitted at all by the traffic signals. “The situation gets worse in the absence of the traffic policeman, especially during evenings,” he says.
A common sight at the junction is of pedestrians running for safety while crossing the road.
School
The situation gets more worrying when students cross the roads during peak hours. Baiju, who walks to his workplace in Vazhathacaud, says the traffic cannot be managed by just a policeman.
“The authorities must consider either enhancing the personnel deployed at the junction or switching on the traffic signals.”
However, T. Mohanan Nair, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Traffic (North), says, “Vehicular traffic was found to be dense in both the directions. As a result, long queues were formed on the roads leading to the junction when the signals were operated. In addition, the roads did not have the required width to facilitate traffic regulated by signals. The factors were taken into consideration while opting for manual streamlining of traffic flow,” he says.
Road safety expert Anilkumar Pandala, however, says the existing traffic signals will work effectively with a few additional measures.
