COIMBATORE: With traffic congestion on the rise on a 500-metre stretch on the Dr Rajendra Prasad Road, calls have grown louder to widen the stretch immediately by removing encroachments. The bottleneck is between the 100-foot-road flyover and Nava India junction on Avinashi Road.
People proceeding towards the Avinashi Road in the city from Gandhipuram, Sivananda Colony, Mettupalayam Road and Rathinapuri use the 100 ft road flyover on the Dr Rajendra Prasad Road. The flyover was built to reduce traffic congestion and ease vehicle movement at the GP and Avarampalayam signal junctions.
However, in recent times, with the spike in the number of vehicles, motorists proceeding towards the Avinashi Road from the 100 ft flyover are enduring tremendous hardships owing to the traffic congestion on the 500m stretch between the end of the flyover and the S-bend on Dr Rajendra Prasad Road.
As the stretch narrows owing to numerous encroachments and a couple of High-Tension (HT) electricity towers, motorists often get stuck in bottlenecks.
At times, the congestion gets much worse as vehicles line up all the way on the flyover. People have been demanding the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) to take immediate action to remove the encroachments and widen the road.
"The traffic congestion on this 500m narrow stretch reflects on the flyover. Vehicles start lining up on the flyover on one side. Some irresponsible and impatient drivers start driving on the wrong side due to the bottleneck, creating more problems. The congestion becomes much worse on the weekends. The officials must address this issue immediately," said K Madhusudhanan, a motorist from Sivananda Colony.
S Raghuvaran, a resident of Rathinapuri, told TNIE, "Many motorists have complained against the rampant parking on the stretch by omnibuses and trucks belonging to the parcel services and travel companies. However, no action has been taken by the officials."
Traffic congestion has been rising rapidly as the HT towers and encroachments alongside the Sanganoor Canal on the stretch remain untouched. The Tamil Nadu Electricity Board is yet to relocate the HT towers obstructing traffic.
Speaking to TNIE, a senior official from the Town Planning Wing of the CCMC, said, "We're yet to take a complete survey of the people encroaching on the banks of the Sanganoor Canal alongside the 500m stretch. There are over 150 encroachments, including both residential and commercial establishments, on the banks. Last week we served notices to 39 encroachers running commercial establishments, asking them to vacate within 15 days. If they don't remove it on their own, the CCMC along with the police will take them down."
The official also added that they are in talks with the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board to provide alternate housing for the residential encroachments and with the TNEB to shift the HT towers. Once they are removed, the canal will be desilted and the road will be widened.
A senior official from the electricity department told TNIE that a proposal to shift around five HT towers on Dr Rajendra Prasad Road has already been approved and the works would begin in about a week. The official also added that they are yet to receive an official letter or request from the CCMC for shifting.