The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Coimbatore News : Danger lurks on Avanashi Road

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Feb 04, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore

Danger lurks on Avanashi Road

By K.V. Prasad and V.S. Palaniappan

By K.V. Prasad and

V.S. Palaniappan

COIMBATORE, FEB. 3. Reckless driving on city roads has come into sharp focus again. Critical injuries to an engineering student of an institution on Avanashi Road on Wednesday has set off anger among students against motorists who violate speed limits (it is 32 km in the city).

The student, D. Prakash, is the son of the State Minister for Animal Husbandry, P.V. Damodaran. As he emerged from the institution on a two-wheeler, a maize-laden tempo knocked him down, inflicting grievous head injury.

He was rushed to a private hospital nearby for emergency surgery.

Heaviest volume

of traffic

Many educational institutions in the city are located on either side of Avanashi Road, a part of the National Highway 47 (Salem to Kochi). As many as 14 institutions- eight colleges and six schools- are located in the Peelamedu area, apart from five hospitals.

This road, which is the access to the city from the rest of the State, witnesses the heaviest volume of traffic, especially during peak hours.

The entire stretch is highly accident-prone due to overspeeding and narrow motorable space. At various points, narrow culverts, shopping areas and illogically located bus shelters combine to cause chaos.

What causes concern is that both the private and Government-owned bus race for more passengers.

As for trucks, barring those whose speed is curtailed by default- due to heavy consignment- the rest display absolute disregard for the speed limit and lives. Wednesday's accident is the third serious one in the recent past.

A college girl and two boys were also knocked down in separate incidents by speeding vehicles.

Project yet to take off

Accidents involve students emerging on two-wheelers from their institutions and also those who cross the road on foot to reach bus stops or other departments of their institutions across the road.

One of the educational groups even announced a few months ago that a foot overbridge would be built to connect the campuses of their engineering and management institutions located opposite each other. The project is yet to take off.

At this spot, two security personnel of the engineering college regulate traffic to enable students to cross over.

As students made their way for a prayer meeting this evening for the injured student, two post-graduate engineering students told The Hindu that the personnel regulated traffic during peak hours and lunch break.

"During other times, it is a mess," they said.

There has been no measure to put the brakes on overspeeding, even in zones where educational institutions are located. The long-pending demand to redesign traffic management on this stretch is yet to be met, especially near the PSG College of Technology, GRG Krishnammal group of institutions and the Hope College signal.

Avanashi Road has no speed breaker, despite the rules allowing provision of these on stretches of highways within urban limits.

However, as this road is used by Ministers/leaders with high-security risk, rules governing their security insist on advise against having speed breakers.

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