No end to accidents: Traffic police put up temporary divider on Cuddalore-Puducherry Road

PUDUCHERRY: In the wake of rising road traffic accidents in Puducherry, with a good number of them turning fatal, the traffic police have put up temporary road dividers on accident prone stretches of the Puducherry-Cuddalore Road.

Eight spots -- Ariyankuppam, Nonankuppam, Andiyarpalayam, Pooranankuppam, Thavalakuppam, Kirumampakkam, Kattukuppam, Pudunagar Kanniyakoil - Mullodai -- have been identified as highly accident prone areas, said Mohan Kumar, Superintendent of Police (South-West).

Last year, 36 fatal accidents were reported across the UT's rural areas (South-west Traffic areas) of which 85% were on the Puducherry-Cuddalore Road. Within a week of this month, three people have died in accidents on the Abhisekham-Thavalakuppam stretch.

According to the SP, the width of the road is insufficient and the long-standing proposal to erect a central median from Marapalam to Mullodai so as to convert the highway into a double lane has not come to fruition yet. There is no word yet from the NHAI to erect the central median at an estimated cost of `2-`2.5 crore.

Meanwhile, PWD Minister K Lakshminarayanan told TNIE that the Ministry of Road transport and Highways has sanctioned Rs 17 crore for widening of the road, and that the plan was still at its tendering stage. He added that the Marapalam junction would be developed under the Smart City project.
The temporary dividers now put up were bought using CSR funds. “We are trying to expand it to more places so that on a greater part of the road, commuters can travel only one way," said Mohan Kumar. A central median can easily reduce the number of fatal accidents, he added.

Buses add to problem

With buses rushing through the stretches further adding to the problem, the transport department looks to plan to set them an increased travel duration from the new bus stand to Cuddalore, said the SP. The traffic police have also proposed three new automated signals at Kirumampakkam, Kannikoil and Poornamkuppam.