A police booth at Pudur junction on Surapet Main Road, Ambattur, doesn’t seem to be serving its intended purpose — preventing accidents and rash driving. In recent times, the junction has turned dangerous with at least one accident being reported every week. Motorists demand that safety features, including a traffic signal, speed-breakers with reflectors, and a pedestrian-crossing, be provided at the junction.
Connecting Ambattur and Puzhal, near Central Prison, the Pudur junction is a crucial traffic zone on the 8km-long Surapet Main Road, which is maintained by the State Highways Department. With a bus stop on one side and commercial establishments on both sides of the road, the junction is busy through the day. In addition, hawkers throng the junction, near which there are many schools, government and private. Taking advantage of the lack of signal and police personnel at the 60ft wide junction, a few motorists speed and overtake. During rush hour, motorists descend on this junction, from all directions, including interior street-lanes and try to cross it, which results in confusion. It also endangers the safety of school students and office-goers crossing the junction. “Despite being a busy traffic zone, the junction has not been regulated. Police personnel are hardly seen at the booth, forcing motorists and pedestrians to manage traffic on their own,” says S. Ram, a motorist from Puzhal.
Police sources say the junction is prone to accidents, especially during the lean hours and at night, as the streetlights do not provide sufficient illumination. As the junction is poorly illuminated, motorists on Surapet Main Road are unable to see pedestrians or vehicles coming from nearby residential colonies. Often, pedestrians dart across the junction, without noticing the passing vehicles. “Steps will be taken to ensure safety of road-users at the junction,” says a State Highways official.
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