CHENNAI: Residents of Sembakkam municipality and Chitlapakkam town panchayat want the traffic police to revoke the regulation they had implemented a few months ago in Mahalakshmi Nagar and ensure normal flow of traffic as in the past.
A few months ago, the traffic police placed barricades at the intersection of Chitlapakkam Main Road and Velachery Main Road near the Mahalakshmi Nagar bus-stop.The entry of vehicles from Chitlapakkam Main Road to Velachery Main Road towards Tambaram was stopped and motorists were forced by the police to take a compulsory left turn.
Motorists have to travel up to Rajakilpakkam intersection, take a U-turn and then return towards Tambaram, a detour of nearly one km.“The regulation could be enforced partially and not throughout the day. Forcing motorists to take a circuitous route even during lean hours is not right,” said V Dhanaraj, an employee at a restaurant at Mahalakshmi Nagar. The road at the intersection was severely damaged, adding to the woes of motorists, they said.
“Traffic policemen are not always deployed on duty during the rush hour and this caused problems when motorists jumped the signal, instead of taking the compulsory left turn to reach Velachery Main Road.
“The only solution is to revoke the traffic regulation to avoid chaos and to ensure the earlier system of allowing vehicles to turn right to reach Velachery Main Road,” K Valli, a vendor at the intersection, said.