Barricades at key junctions in city add to motorists’ problems

Chennaiites commuting by the very lifelines of the city, such as Anna Salai, GST Road, Poonamallee High Road, Kodambakkam High Road, Rajaji Salai, Sardar Patel Road, ECR and OMR are all affected by what seems to be unplanned barricading of roads. Such barricades are many a time placed on footpaths as well, compelling pedestrians to risk walking on the main roads. 

Giving us an overview of the scenario, S Mohanram, a road safety activist, says, “Although barricades in such a metro such as ours are necessary, the officials concerned should use them judiciously. The city is already reeling under the pressure of barricades set up the Chennai Metro Rail Corp, which has even reduced the driving space on several stretches. In my opinion, a detailed study needs to be conducted to identify the high density traffic zones in the city and the accident prone areas. Measures should be taken accordingly to regulate traffic.” 

However, officials have a different story to tell. Abhay Kumar Singh, Additional Commissioner, Traffic, says, “The city police set up barricades whenever there is a need to conduct vehicle checks. We have instructed the police personnel to set aside the barricades safely after check-ups are conducted on important stretches.” 

Traffic police personnel on the ground also share their woes concerning the volume of traffic in the city. A policeman posted near the Anna Arch flyover, said “At a time, when the number of vehicles in city is on the rise, it is a Herculean task to regulate traffic. Thanks to these barricades, there is at least some order amid the chaos. On stretches like ECR and OMR, which have more barricades, owing to the cases of drunk or rash driving on the weekends, the presence of these barricades are literally the difference between life and death.”

It may be noted that activist Traffic Ramaswami had recently staged an agitation to remove some barricades, which according to him, blocked traffic on the service lanes of Rajiv Gandhi Salai, one of the busiest roads in June and the police officials had relented.