Flouting rules, arches stand tall on city roads

Thiruvananthapuram: Ten years ago when arches had been a menace on city roads, there was some tough action from the police. Constant vigil and strict enforcement measures undertaken by the city police in 2009-10 could weed out the arches completely from the roads.
But, things are fast going back to square one. Posing road safety hazards, arches are making an ugly come back in the city. A quick audit by TOI on Sunday and Monday could identify arches on major roads such as Kowdiar-Jawahar Nagar Road, Golf Links Road, Uloor-Akkulam road, Vattiyoorkavu-Kulashekharam Road and Kodunganoor-Plavod road. There are arches on Karamana-Kaimanam Road too, but, they are put on the median and side of the road which are illegal. In most of the cases, arches were put up by temple authorities as part of festivals. In some roads, the arches are too short that it pose danger to buses plying in the area.

In 2009, the then city police commissioner M R Ajithkumar banned ‘across the road’ arches in the city. Ajithkumar, who is now Thrissur range IG, said that the ban was enforced as the practice was illegal and posed a road safety threat. “Corporations cannot give permission as arches are illegal. When people install arches without permission, they have to be removed immediately. The structures erected on roads will affect visibility. Often arches encroach upon the road or footpath. As per norms of Indian Roads Congress, nothing that will divert attention of motorists should not be allowed on road,” he said.

On the way he implemented the order, Ajith Kumar said that he sent letters to leaders of all political parties, including students’ organizations, against installation of arches. “Most of them co-operated with us. I also had talks with corporation authorities to convince them to not allow illegal structures like arches on road,” he said.

Ajith Kumar said that he himself had witnessed two accidents – one in Kollam and one in front of AKG Centre, caused by arches - and that was the trigger for his unompromising battle against the menace. Ajith’s model was followed by the commissioners who followed, keeping the roads free of arches all these years.

When asked about the popping up of new arches, Mayor V K Prasanth said that he has taken a serious note of the situation. “We have formed squads. Proper action will be taken on the issue,” he said.

Assistant commissioner of traffic (south) M K Sulfikar said that he too noticed the unsafe trend of arches across roads. “Stations in each locality has to take action. Setting up of arches pose a threat to motorists,” he said.

Former director of TRDCL Anilkumar Pandala, who launched a major campaign which finally resulted in banning of arches, said that it was a violation of law to install any permanent or temporary structures across public roads. “As per IPC guidelines, it is illegal to encroach the road with any structure. The only possible installation that is legal is for construction or renovation of roads and for that too, it is essential that hazard signs and proper warning boards are placed well in advance to alert motorists,” he said.