Kamarajar Salai, one of the key arterial roads in the city with a number of shopping areas, marriage halls and other public buildings lined up closely, is always riddled with traffic congestion, owing mainly to movement of heavy vehicles and haphazard parking of vehicles on both sides of the road.
Though the problem exists in almost the entire 2.5-km stretch, road users allege that one of the few points where the congestion is more pronounced is near the junction of Kamarajar Salai and East Veli Street. They allege that the traffic congestion near this junction, which is located barely 50 metres away from another junction in East Marret Street, has worsened because of encroachments and inappropriate placement of dumper bins.
The huge garbage bins have vastly reduced the carriageway near the signal, particularly at the point where vehicles stop while going towards Vilakkuthoon.
Pointing out the presence of two bus shelters at this point, M. Sulaiman, an auto-rickshaw driver, who frequently uses the road, said, “The three huge dustbins placed right on the road close to the bus shelters are of little use. Moreover, because of these bins, the road gets completely blocked when buses stop at the shelters. Even if the signal is green, vehicles waiting behind the buses cannot move.”
“We objected to the presence of these bins a few times, which I think are there for more than a year now. However, no one seems to take any action,” said a traffic police personnel on duty at the East Marret junction.
People also point to the presence of a footwear shop, located adjacent to the transformer near the junction and few other shops that had allegedly encroached a considerable portion of the road. “The hawkers doing business near the footpath are not much of a hindrance to the flowing traffic. However, some of these brick-and-mortar shops are clearly encroachments and had to be removed by the Madurai Corporation,” the police personnel said.
To add to the woes is the haphazard manner in which share autorickshaws stop near the bus stop to pick up passengers. “While there is a police booth at the East Marret junction and the police personnel there regulate the movement of share autorickshaws and other vehicles, the police booth at the East Veli junction mostly remain locked up,” a person who sells tender coconut near the signal said.