KOCHI: Athani Junction along the NH near the Airport is highly accident prone. The reasons range from ludicrous to apathy.
The traffic signals on the bend of the road are positioned in such a way that they are not visible to the drivers approaching from a distance, moreover, the branches of adjacent trees obstruct the view further. Drivers coming from Angamaly at high speeds fail to notice the signal on time thus causing delay in braking, and hence accidents. Even after repeated media reports, the situation has not changed.
Three months ago, none of the signals were working here. Constant traffic blocks forced the authorities to repair them after three weeks.
These traffic lights become more lethal during night. The traffic lights at Athani Junction and the Airport Junction, 75 metres away, are switched off after 10 pm. Vehicles coming from Aluva to Angamaly may pass the signal at Airport Junction at high speeds ignorant of the upend ahead. Tourist buses and goods carriers hence find it difficult to brake all of a sudden when two-wheelers coming from North Paravoor cross the junction in the dark to enter National Highway 544.
“We still witness an accident every 30 minutes. There have been multiple news reports on the same but the authorities are passive,” said Paul Kachapilly, a local shopkeeper.
“Passengers try to board when the buses are stopped at the signal. This creates problems for other vehicles especially to the two-wheeler riders because of the people getting in and out of the bus in the middle of the road even when the signals have turned green,” said Sebastian K, a resident.
Nedumbassery police denied any complaints about the signal. Interestingly, Express had reported that a car had crashed into one of the signals and dislodged it. The signal has not been repaired by the National Highway Authorities so far.
Meanwhile, District Collector K Mohammed Y Safirulla has said steps will be taken to make it an accident-free zone.