Tamil Nadu - Tiruchi   

Green or red: halt of bus near signal stalls traffic

PHOTO:R.M. RAJARATHINAM

Snail's pace: A bus halting near the Puthur four-road junction signal. —

TIRUCHI: Traffic snarls on busy thoroughfares in the city have always been a matter of concern not only for road users, but also for police and transport department officials.

Widening of national highways, construction of flyovers, and development of city roads, though, have reduced traffic congestion considerably, traffic bottlenecks still continue to haunt the road users.

Presence of bus stops closer to traffic signals, road junctions, and near sharp curves is one of the major factors that hamper free flow of traffic. The proclivity of the bus crew to stop buses at non designated points aggravate the problem.

Presence of bus stops close to traffic signal points at TVS Toll Gate; Head Post Office junction; Puthur four roads junction; Mutharaiyar statue junction; and District Court junction have always posed a challenge in regulating traffic. There is an urgent need to shift these bus stops and various organisations have already brought this to notice of the authorities.

The NHAI shifted the bus stop for the buses proceeding to KK Nagar at Mannarpuram away from the signal point, with the intention of avoiding congestion. However, people still prefer to wait near the signal where the old bus stop existed and the new bus stop wears a deserted look. Mofussil buses from Thanjavur, Pudukottai proceeding to central bus stand halt beneath the new flyover at TVS Tollgate junction and also at the sharp curve near Simpson and Sons at Head Post Office round about. The presence of policemen fails to deter the crew, whose callousness holds back traffic. The bus stop in front of the RC School is also not an authorised one.

All the unauthorised bus stops should be removed, says C.Balasubramanian, honorary president of the Tiruchi district Exnora. The police and the transport department should form a special committee to identify such bus stops and relocate them , he adds. Mr.Balasubramanian also advocated periodical refresher courses for the bus crew to sensitize them on traffic rules.

Relocating bus stops will immensely help in solving the traffic woes, K.Mani, a car driver, said citing the example of the shifting of warehouse bus stop in Palakkarai recently, which improved the traffic flow.

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