Residents demand for foot overbridge in front of Jipmer remains unfulfilled

Demand for a foot overbridge at Jipmer due to safety concerns for patients and visitors on busy highway.

For visitors to the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (Jipmer), situated on the busy Tindivanam-Puducherry Highway, access to the hospital’s main gate is time-consuming.

With an increase in vehicular population, the demand for a foot overbridge to provide a safe passage for patients and their attendants visiting the hospital has been a long-pending demand.

Over 10,000 people visit Jipmer every day. After getting down from the buses headed to Tindivanam and Kooteripattu, visitors and pedestrians often make use of a gap in the median to cross the road.

In the absence of a foot overbridge, pedestrians and patients’ attendants dart across the road to the other side and run the risk of getting hit by approaching vehicles. Though pedestrian crossings are marked on the road, no police personnel are posted near the intersection of Indira Nagar to help them cross the road.

“Residents have been demanding the construction of a foot overbridge in front of Jipmer for many years now. The issue has been brought to the notice of the hospital management and political representatives several times, but in vain,” said G. Johnes, a resident of Indira Nagar.

According to Dinakaraselvi, a resident, “Attendants of patients, especially those admitted in the Super-speciality block, are forced to buy medicines from private pharmacies as the pharmacies in Jipmer run out of medicines often. It is risky to cross the highway at night as vehicles ply at high speed. The construction of a foot overbridge should be mooted.”

According to V. Chandrasekhar, president of Bangaaru Vaickal Neeradhara Kootamaippu, a water users’ association, “There is no safe way for the visitors to reach the hospital. The road is narrow and encroachments by shops and other commercial establishments on the stretch makes it even more difficult for people to reach the hospital’s main gate. A foot overbridge connecting to the hospital would be a great initiative for the overall safety of the patients and their attendants.”