Those heading towards the Chennai Egmore Station have been flirting with danger for a while now. With a defunct signal, the near collision with other vehicles has become a routine now. 

Sathish G, a resident of Pudupet, said, “You have buses proceeding towards the main road and a number of vehicles — two-wheelers and cars, apart from autos — taking the route towards Chennai Egmore Station at regular intervals. Any unsuspecting vehicle coming from the opposite direction stands a chance of a collision with other vehicles.” He added that private vehicles are always moving at breakneck speed in the junction, where the signal stands. “I don’t think anyone even realizes that they can take any pedestrian by surprise. There is a steady stream of pedestrians crossing the point, all through the day.” He said.

The frequent commuters pointed out that even with the signal working earlier, there were no traffic rules followed. “It was an ignore signal and authorities have done nothing to make people adhere to traffic rules or have one functioning in the first place,” said Venkatesh, a resident of Choolai Pallam.

He pointed out that though the traffic is a little lean on the road during the day, there is a significant rise in the number of vehicles proceeding towards Chintadripet and taking the road straight to reach Mount Road later in the day. “It is absolute chaos and one has to carefully navigate the unruly movement of traffic,” he added.

However, sources from Egmore Traffic Enforcement Police Station denied reports, stating that the signal is switched off only during the day. “The commuters have to wait for a minute or two unnecessarily, even when there is no traffic. Moreover, they don’t even pay heed to the signal during the non-peak hours.

However, the signal is switched on during the peak hours and there is one traffic personnel deployed near the spot,” said the source.