VELLORE: To mitigate persistenttraffic congestion, the district police have prohibited the entry of heavy vehicles into the city between 8 am and 9 pm. The move aims to prevent gridlock, especially along the road between Vellore New Bus Station and Katpadi Railway Station. The stretch experiences heavy traffic during peak hours due to the operations of school and college buses, sources said.
On Tuesday morning, trucks from Bengaluru attempted to access the service road near Green Circle en route to Tirupati via Katpadi and Chittoor. However, when the traffic police redirected the trucks to the NH flyover, the drivers protested by parking their vehicles on the road, disrupting highway traffic.
Traffic sub-inspector Rajini explained the police directive to permit heavy vehicles into the city only between 9 pm and 7 am. Despite the clarification, the drivers sought a one-time exemption, citing the troubles of taking a longer route.
After the police, saying only vehicles transporting essential goods qualify for an exemption, warned the drivers of legal action for traffic obstruction, the latter moved the trucks away.
Officials reiterated that restricting heavy vehicle movement within the city would continue to ease traffic congestion.