Much is being talked about the Chief Secretary-led Operation Anantha, which was kicked off as a mission to prevent flooding in the Thampanoor and East Fort areas, and then slowly, took over the task of clearing encroachments in the area while clearing canals.
What the Chief Secretary has promised now is that the operation will do more than that, including a significant move that could make driving, and walking along the footpaths, in the city a much easier affair.
The top bureaucrat has said that a Supreme Court ruling banning hoardings will be implemented as part of Operation Anantha in the city. Hoardings, for long, have been a major headache at several crucial junctions, obstructing a clear view of side lanes and even at some sharp curves while the erection of some hoardings, right on the footpath, have forced pedestrians to walk along the road.
In fact, Janamaitri meetings conducted by the City Police have recorded several complaints from residents’ associations across the city on hoardings.
A barely-controlled bedlam. That about sums up the traffic situation that is fast becoming commonplace at the Uppidamoodu bridge.
Five or six signal posts vie with each other for the attention of the motorists. The problem here is that a good many of them appear to be conveniently colour blind. So, when the green winks away to red, few bother to stop their vehicles; the primary guilt in this case should be shared between the riders of two-wheelers and autorickshaws. Often those who do bother to check the colour of the signal are either honked at from behind or are giggled at by those who zoom past. Talk of something being more honoured in the breach!
Could it be that all this gung-ho is because there are no traffic personnel posted on the bridge? Or is it caused by the lack of traffic cameras on any of the signal posts?
If traffic rules are not followed, then why have an array of signal posts?
A traffic light at the Museum Junction stands as a funny testimony to the lack of co-ordination between the various government departments in the State. The countdown timer of this particular light is now in a blind spot, for those coming from the Palayam side and going towards Vellayambalam. Thanks to the pole of a streetlight put up right in front of the traffic light, a major portion of the timer cannot be seen by those coming from Palayam side. Only one of the digits will be visible, prompting motorists to accelerate thinking that the signal will turn red soon. Locating the streetlight a little away from the signal could have solved the problem.
Contributions by
Dennis Marcus Mathew,
G. Mahadevan and
S.R. Praveen
