Tamil Nadu   

Severe action against traffic violators: police

KULITHALAI: Faced with the daunting task of regulating the heavy traffic at the Lalapet railway level crossing near here on the busy Tiruchi-Karur Highway, police have warned that violators of the one-way traffic arrangement would be dealt with severely.

The problem for the police has only compounded with the pace of the railway over bridge work picking up in the recent weeks and the narrow bridge across the South Bank Canal just metres off the railway level crossing getting weak under the weight of each passing vehicle.

Always the Lalapet railway level crossing remained a hazard and a pain in the neck of road users who travel between Tiruchi and Karur. After sustained pressure from the people and several promises from the politicians, the railway over bridge became a reality and is about to be completed though behind schedule by almost a year.

But the problem for the police and the public seems to be on the road, the incessant vehicular traffic.

The heavy traffic on the busy highway that acts as a connection to Kerala bound vehicles, the numerous buses plying on the Tiruchi-Karur, Tiruchi-Tirupur and Tiruchi-Coimbatore sectors and the massive movement of sand-laden lorries from the various quarries along the right bank of River Cauvery make navigating the Lalapet bottleneck rather cumbersome.

These days, the travelling time in the section has gone up considerably thereby making the bus crew hurry through with their drive. The bus crew, whether State Transport Corporation or the private players, are more intent on overtaking the long rows of sand-laden lorries and cross the Lalapet level crossing quickly.

This has led to the crew violating the one-way traffic being enforced for the past few weeks at Lalapet. While vehicles from Karur had to get diverted at the Gandhi Statue and pass through Karupattur Agrharam, those vehicles from Kulithalai had to hold course along the National Highway to reach Lalapet.

Seeing that the crews were flagrantly violating the rule, police personnel were posted on either end to regulate traffic all through and sometimes in the night as well.

Finding that even that did not deter some from evading the regulation, police have now strictly warned that any violation of the traffic regulation would attract severe punishment.

Meanwhile, the Railways has announced that the Lalapet level crossing would remain shut for 14 hours continuously between 6 p.m. on February 2 and 8 a.m. the next day on account of periodic maintenance works.

During that time, vehicles from Karur should proceed through Puliyur, Uppidamangalam and Panjapatti to reach Kulithalai while those vehicles from Tiruchi side would be allowed through Karupattur level crossing.

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