The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Woman run over by bus in Tambaram

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Friday, May 11, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Woman run over by bus in Tambaram

K. Manikandan

Camp Road Junction turns into an accident-prone zone

TAMBARAM : A bus ran over a woman riding on the pillion of a two-wheeler, killing her on the spot, at Camp Road Junction near Tambaram on Wednesday evening.

Traffic police said Dhanalakshmi, 24, of Kottivakkam, had come to MGR Nagar in Selaiyur near Tambaram to meet her relatives.

She was returning home along with her husband Madurai Muthu on a motorcycle along the Velachery Main Road near the Camp Road, when the bus knocked them down at around 4 p.m. While Madurai Muthu had a miraculous escape, his wife was killed on the spot.

The bus was chartered by a private college in Perungudi to pick up and drop students.

Hotspot

The Camp Road Junction, at the intersection of the Agaram Main Road and the Velachery Main Road, is turning into an accident hotspot. It is busy through the day with vehicles bound for Agaram, Madambakkam, Tambaram and Velachery.

Only a couple of months ago, a college student riding a scooter was run over by a speeding vehicle near the very spot where Wednesday's accident occurred.

Despite becoming an accident-prone zone, the junction has not received adequate attention from authorities.

Encroachments

Encroachments have shrunk road space and neither civic agencies nor the Highways Department have taken steps to widen the road here, according to the residents.

Temporary bus shelters with thatched roof give some respite to commuters waiting at the bus stop there.

But crowd swells during the morning rush hours and spills on to the main road.

Considering the number of commuters boarding buses from here, an exclusive bus bay is inevitable, according to N. Gopi, a resident of Camp Road.

Road signages have to be installed and the various departments involved in road safety could also consider installing a traffic signal at Camp Road Junction, he said.

Twin menace

Police admitted that they were unable to keep a check on the twin menace of overspeeding and rash driving, particularly by sand lorries and chartered buses. Attempts to sensitise drivers of such vehicles were only partly successful, police officials added.

Despite the creation of separate traffic police wing for the southern suburbs, on many occasions personnel from these wings are posted on duty elsewhere mostly to provide security along the route of a VIP convoy.

Improve road safety

Members of civic groups in Tambaram said it was time officials paid greater attention to Velachery Main Road and also called upon the Government to implement better road safety measures.

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