THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The new traffic arrangement introduced by the Traffic Police on an experimental basis to reduce the congestion along the stretch between Karamana and Jagathy during the peak hours fell flat on the first day itself. The police had enforced the new system from Wednesday, which was effective from 8.30 am to 11 am and from 3.30 pm to 6.30 pm. According to motorists, the move failed to meet its objective and the problem became worse.
On Wednesday morning, a serpentine queue was visible between Poojappura and Jagathy Junction and it took over an hour to clear the bottleneck.
“This is not how a traffic system should be enforced and this experiment will be nothing but a disaster. We usually travel along the stretch without any hassles. The new system is a nightmare. Moreover, we were not informed earlier about it,” said Varghese John, a banker.
Under the new system, vehicles coming from Jagathy will not be allowed to turn right to reach Melarannoor via the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology. They have to negotiate the Poojappura roundabout, return and take a free left to Melarannoor.
Small vehicles from Karamana to Jagathy should travel via Melarannoor NGO Quarters. They should first reach Melarannoor Junction and continue to Ananthapuri Auditorium. The road from Melarannoor to Ananthapuri Auditorium and the road from Melarannoor to Jagathy will be one way. Vehicles will not be allowed to ply from Poojappura to Melarannoor Junction or Jagathy bridge. Similarly, vehicles from Melarannoor Junction to Poojappura and Karamana should proceed via NGO Quarters and Kunchalumoodu. Heavy vehicles coming from Karamana CIT Road and Karamana Masjid road should proceed to Poojappura side via Kunjalumoodu.
Besides, the Poojappura Mandapam road will be one-way for vehicles coming from Jagathy. The vehicles coming from Mudavanmugal to Pangode should not take right but proceed to Poojappura roundabout and take a U-turn back to Pangode.
The police authorities are keen to take the reform forward. According to them, the decision to implement it was taken after conducting a study.
Arul R B Krishna, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order, Traffic) told ‘Express’ the confusion would be cleared soon. “We have enforced new traffic experiment to use the new stretch near Ananthapuri Auditorium near Kannettumukku in Jagathy. It is learnt the road between Karamana and Jagathy via Kannettumukku is underutilised. If this stretch is used properly, we can avoid the traffic congestion between Poojappura and Jagathy during peak hours. On Wednesday, most motorists were unaware of the arrangement. This led to the chaos. We will stick to the new arrangement in the coming days. If it still does not succeed, we will withdraw it,” he said.