Master plan on the anvil to curb traffic snarls during protests

Thiruvananthapuram: There would be very few people in the city who had not suffered due to the sudden traffic snarls caused by protests and processions on the MG Road, the arterial road of the city. The city police authorities are working on devising a master plan that would help reduce the chaos on roads owing to such marches and protests.
City police commissioner S Surendran said that effective sharing of information will be a key factor for the proposed master plan.

“At present, whenever there is a protest or procession on the road, the responsibility of traffic diversion is only on the officials at the local police station in the proximity. Hence, the motorists become aware of diversions only after they have reached close to the spot where action is taking place. This is what creates snarls on the roads,” the commissioner said.

For example, motorists going to East Fort from Kesavadasapuram, Sasthamangalam and Poojapura, which are in different directions, become aware of a protest happening in front of the secretariat only after they have reached near the Statue Junction. By that time, it would be too late and all the motorists would be forced to take the same bylanes to avoid the main road. If these motorists knew in advance before entering the MG Road about the protest happening at Statue Junction, they could easily take alternative routes and thus avoid being trapped in snarls, the commissioner elaborated the idea behind the master plan.

“Henceforth, we have decided to alert all police stations in the city whenever there is a protest on any of the roads,” the commissioner said. The police personnel on traffic duty under local police stations can initiate measures to warn the motorists.

The police have plans to introduce public announcement (PA) systems in major junctions in the city to warn motorists. This is because warning motorists using traffic cops on roads would be a tough task. At present PA systems exist only at a handful of junctions in the city. Majority of them are on junctions along the MG Road. The police also have plans to tie up with radio stations to broadcast messages.

The two assistant commissioners of city traffic are entrusted with the task of preparing a master plan.

The proposed master plan is just one of the various measures undertaken by the city police to keep the roads safe for motorists and pedestrians. At present, the police are also engaged in the works of installing barricades on medians on busy roads to prevent jaywalking. This is because accidents were frequently being reported owing to pedestrians crossing the road carelessly.

Also, the police had been strictly checking vehicles and motorists during the past one week as part of Road Safety Week observance. The special drive concluded on Sunday. According to the police, around 6,000 motorists were booked during this period for various offences such as drunken driving, rash driving and not wearing helmets and seatbelts.