The intersection of Tirupparankundram Road and Bypass Road near Palanganatham is one of the relatively better regulated junctions in Madurai, owing to the presence of a big roundabout- perhaps the second biggest, after the recently constructed one at Arappalayam although the latter witnesses lesser traffic.
However, people opine that though the traffic movement is largely unhindered, the Palanganatham roundabout is not free from accidents, mainly due to lack of speed control mechanism. With the roundabout not proving to be effective in controlling the speed of vehicles at this junction, there is a need for speed-breakers or other such mechanism to make the spot less accident prone.
The key concern appears to be the vehicles coming from Bypass Road to either take a left turn to go towards Periyar Bus Stand or join the TPK Road to go towards Tirupparankundram. “The vehicles that go straight towards Tirupparankundram from Bypass Road often come at high speed. Since the position of the roundabout does not demand them to reduce the speed, they pose a threat to vehicles using the roundabout from other directions,” said V.P. Manikandan, a marketing professional and a social worker, who frequently uses the road.
He said that pieces of shattered glass from vehicles that meet with accidents can be spotted near the roundabout almost every day.
N. Rajasekar, an auto-rickshaw driver, said the junction was relatively safe during peak hours than during lean hours. “During peak hours, vehicles cannot over-speed. It becomes risky during lean hours, particularly at night,” he said. “Even if I try to slow down on seeing vehicles coming at a high speed from the opposite direction, I get hit by vehicle coming from behind. It has happened to me once,” he added.
A police personnel from the nearby Subramaniapuram police station said the junction was not safe for pedestrians as well. “We have marked zebra crossing at one spot, but no one respects it,” he said. He acknowledged that speed-breakers must at least be laid on Bypass Road to make the junction less accident-prone.