VIJAYAWADA: Benz Circle, an important landmark in the city, also gives the worst nightmares to road users, for it is a Herculean task to cross the junction from any of the four sides, particularly during peak hours.
Increasing vehicular traffic has only made the matters worse and all the time more dangerous for commuters in reaching their respective destinations. At any given point of time, it is utter chaos at the roundabout, which witnesses not less than 57,000 vehicles of every description passing through, on an average every day.
Not a single day passes for Ramamurthy, who works in a shopping mall at Labbipet, to curse his fate, as he has to start early from the house so he will not get caught up in traffic snarl at Benz Circle, which is a regular. The 54-year-old man, who stays with his family in Patamata, has to ride a two-wheeler to reach his workplace.
“It just takes five minutes from my house to reach Benz Circle and then the real wait begins. Most of the times when I reach the place, the traffic signal turns red and I have to wait for more than 10 minutes. Once the signal turns green, the risky manoeuvre of my vehicle begins. There is a sudden rush and I have to go straight, but the vehicles on my left suddenly overtake and turn right, blocking my way. As I apply brakes abruptly, my vehicle stops with a jerk. I have to wait a couple of minutes to find gap between the vehicles to go straight. I feel it is a battle for my life and always pray God I am lucky to survive the day,” he exclaims.
K Srinviasa Rao, another private employee, who had faced a similar experience, recalls that he was lucky to have applied brakes on a particular day when the big lorry veered to its right suddenly, else he would have been crushed by it, then and there. “It was a horrible and worst traffic snarl. Though there were a couple of police personnel, they were helpless. Hope, there is solution to this problem, as there are many lives at stake,” he averred.
The truckers cannot be faulted, as they have to wait longer than smaller vehicles to cross the junction and take a right turn. “The road from Machilipatnam is narrower than the one coming from Skew Bridge (Chennai-Kolkata National Highway-16). So, we have to wait for long to take a right turn and when we do that, smaller vehicles, mostly two-wheelers, come from our right side to go straight. If we wait for them to pass, we will get stuck on the road at junction with traffic police holding us responsible for the traffic jam. What are we supposed to do,” questions D Ramesh, a 34-year-old trucker, who is very familiar with the route and its problems, as he had been driving on the route for some six years now.
There is also a problem with ‘free left’ on the road from Machilipatnam connecting the Circle. Once traffic lights turn green, the vehicles from Labbipet going towards Machilipatnam rush, but have to invariably slow down, after crossing the Circle, as the steady stream of vehicles from the ‘free left’ block the road, always posing a danger of collision. Similarly, the vehicles coming from Machilipatnam find it difficult to use ‘free left’, as it is always chock-a-block, impossible to manoeuvre without suffering a scratch or two on vehicles.
“Among the traffic bottlenecks in the city, Benz Circle tops the list. The number of complaints is on the rise ever since the region has been declared capital region, following which chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu and other ministers from both the state and Union governments are frequenting the region. Traffic interruptions are increasing in number and duration in the city, more so at Benz Circle, subjecting people to more inconvenience,” observed CPM leader Ch Babu Rao.