TIRUCHY: The ongoing underground drainage (UGD) work taken up by the Tiruchy city corporation along the Cauvery Bridge-Anna statue stretch has brought traffic to a crawl in the heart of the city, causing severe inconvenience to office-goers, students, and traders for over a month.
The road, which forms part of a state highway, is located in one of the busiest parts of Tiruchy and is used daily by thousands of commuters. With a big stretch of road dug up near the Anna Statue junction, the available carriageway has been reduced, leading to frequent bottlenecks.
The congestion worsens during peak hours between 8 am and 11 am, and 4 pm and 7 pm, when hundreds of vehicles are forced to move bumper-to-bumper. Many commuters say they spend over 30 minutes just to cross the stretch.
“I usually reach my office at the Collectorate in 17 minutes, but now I take at least 35 minutes just to cross this road. It’s exhausting and time-consuming. Unless the roadwork is completed soon, these daily snarls will continue to trouble us,” said M Suresh of Mambalasalai Encroachments worsen woes near Nelpettai market A similar situation persists at Nelpettai Street near the fruit market, where hundreds of vendors and trucks occupy a major portion of the road.
Many vehicles remain parked for loading and unloading goods, creating a bottleneck for vehicles travelling towards Kattur, and Thuvakudi. “There is barely any space for a vehicle to pass. The entire road is blocked by trucks and autos parked for unloading fruits.
Despite the recurring chaos, the traffic police have failed to take action against illegal parking and roadside encroachments,” said A Jayakanth, from Thiruverumbur. When contacted, a city traffic police official said,
“The ongoing roadworks around the Anna statue and the festival crowd are slowing down vehicle movement, leading to traffic congestion in the area. We have requested the corporation to complete the work at the earliest. We are also monitoring encroachments in Nelpettai and issuing warnings to violators.”