In Chennai, one of the busiest Nandanam traffic junctions is full of chaos now?
Posted on: 16/Mar/2022 9:37:22 AM
With a daily traffic volume of 1.25 lakhs, Chennai based Nandanam is not only one of the busiest traffic junctions but also one of the most chaotic junctions in the city. It is noteworthy that in this important traffic junction lane and signal jumping are uncontrolled and stop line violations here are so acute. It is really shocking to note that many vehicles that wait well beyond the stop line block those vehicles that are given green signal. There are not enough traffic policemen to regulate the traffic here. It is now believed that a free left turn at the junction might decongest both Venkatanarayana Road as well as Boag Road. It is known that Venkatnarayana Road is cut abruptly just ahead of its joining points on the Anna Salai. Between 2012 and 2019, Anna Salai stretch was converted into a one way stretch for traffic when CMRL started constructing its underground corridor.
The traffic pattern was restored once the metro corridor was inaugurated. This brought huge relief and happiness for many commuters as they need not wait longer at the junction or take a detour. Their happiness was short lived and within a week of time traffic restrictions were re-imposed. The vehicles from T. Nagar took either Burkit Road or Pondy Bazaar to reach Anna Salai.
It was revealed by an IT professional working in Venkatanarayana Road that previously vehicles were able to turn left easily to Anna Salai or go straight to Cenotaph Road within 10 minutes without having to make a long winded U turn. He added that those vehicles that travelled in the opposite direction, that is from Cenotaph Road to Anna Salai were forced to take a left turn towards the Nandanam signal. This added to the chaos and these vehicles got stuck in the traffic for more than 20 minutes. At the Nandanam junction, the police also encourage stop-line violations.
A motorist mentioned that there are no policemen to stop the motorists from crossing the stop-line and warn them. He threw light on how sometimes the policemen themselves ask the motorists to stop beyond the stop line so that they do not block the free left towards Venkatnarayana Road.
