A tiny junction where traffic mostly crawls

Traffic arrangements near Kasi Theatre junction in Ashok Pillar leaves residents miffed

The Kasi Theatre junction is a difficult point to navigate as it gets congested with vehicles that wait for an interminably long time.

Vehicles often take the wrong way, says Gopalakrishnan V, who lives at MGR Nagar. He takes the stretch from his residence to Kamaraj Salai, a trip that can otherwise be done in 10 minutes. A large number of vehicles backing up means he cannot take the stretch in an emergency, he says.

Around the junction are several schools. Parents drive or ride the wrong side of the road at school hours in the mornings as well as the evenings. Residents blame the heavy traffic on two-wheelers. Some stretches are taken over by share auto-rickshaws, with pedestrians having no space. “There are nearly eight schools, including a few government schools, and they add to the volume of traffic,” Mr. Gopalakrishnan says.

The junction gets overcrowded as the stretch serves as the passageway for mofussil buses as well. “Our suggestion is that the buses be allowed to go through the Maanthope Colony to Ashok Pillar,” he says. The Ashok Pillar Junction serves as the gateway to the Kathipara Junction in the south, Koyambedu and Vadapalani in the north, West Mambalam and T. Nagar in the east and K.K. Nagar in the west. An earlier plan of the Greater Chennai Corporation to build an over-bridge was abandoned after the Metro Rail work was taken up. The unauthorised parking of autorickshaws near the Metro Rail station has added to the chaos.

The locals say a bridge only for two-wheelers would help to ease the congestion. The lack of sufficient public transport, especially buses, is forcing people to use their vehicles, says V. Krishnan, a resident of the area. A traffic police officer says there is a plan to allow buses through the left arm of the road. “They will turn right to move into Kamaraj Salai. “We have been talking with the Department of Highways to break the traffic island so that the buses can be diverted to the left side of the road, releasing the bottleneck. The Department has assured us that it would comply with our request,” the officer says.