TIRUNELVELI: Vehicles, particularly ambulances travelling from Tenkasi and the Mukkudal region of Tirunelveli, are getting stuck on one-way roads in the Town area of Tirunelveli city due to poor traffic management, widespread violations of rules by road users, including police personnel.
Ambulance drivers said they were unable to transport patients on time to the Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital (TvMCH) as their movement is frequently blocked by autos, cars, and two-wheelers violating one-way regulations. They also pointed to the lack of traffic police personnel along the 1.8-km stretch from Town arch to Valukkodai stop.
“We usually take around 20 minutes to reach the entrance of city from the faraway Mukkudal or Alangulam regions. After that, we struggle in traffic for nearly 25 minutes at the city to reach the hospital. Vehicles violating the one-way rule block ambulances at Valukkodai, Thondar Sannithi and West Car Street junctions. Even police personnel in two-wheelers and four-wheelers violate the one-way rule and come from the opposite side,” the drivers alleged.
S Dhamodharan, a road user, claimed that city police officers, including the commissioner and his two deputies, and the district collector had remained apathetic to traffic snarls in the Town area for decades. “Their residences and offices are located in the traffic-free areas on the right bank of the Thamirabarani, mainly in Palayamkottai. As they don’t travel through Valukkodai and Thondar Sannithi areas everyday, they fail to understand the severity of the problem faced by commuters,” he said.
Another user, P Manickam, said indiscriminate parking of mini-trucks, autos, and bikes along the stretch is worsening the situation. “The traffic wing of the city police should find a permanent solution to the issue on the Pettai-Valukkodai, Valukkodai-Town Arch, Valukkodai-Cheranmahadevi (Pottalpudur) and Suthamalli-Kamatchi Amman road stretches in the city,” he added.
When contacted by TNIE, newly appointed Deputy Commissioner (West) of Tirunelveli city police, Dr C Madhan, said he would study the traffic issues in the Town area and work out scientific solutions, keeping safety aspects in mind.