Chennai:Kancheepuram witnessed severe traffic congestion for more than five hours on Gandhi Jayanti Day, with major roads and junctions witnessing long queues of vehicles, amid a shortage of traffic police personnel.
The snarl was reported from around 7 am to 1 pm, with the influx of vehicles from neighbouring areas during Gandhi Jayanti and weekend holidays adding to the traffic pressure in the temple town.
The four main roads, Kamarajar Street, Nellukara Street, Gandhi Road, Mettu Street and Salai Street, were among the heavily-affected areas. At several locations, pedestrians struggled to cross the roads.
Residents attributed the situation primarily to the shortage of traffic police personnel and the absence of a dedicated traffic inspector in Kancheepuram for several months. Against a requirement of at least 24 traffic personnel, only around seven personnel are reportedly available.
With inadequate personnel at traffic signals and major junctions, traffic movement came to a standstill at several locations for prolonged periods, leaving motorists, residents, devotees and tourists stranded.
The problem was aggravated near the entrance to the bus stand on Kamarajar Road, where auto rickshaws are being parked indiscriminately and passengers picked up from the middle of the road.
In Kancheepuram, traffic volumes increase during wedding and auspicious occasions, when people from surrounding districts arrive to purchase silk textiles, apart from the regular influx of devotees and tourists.
Residents and civic activists have urged the district administration to take immediate measures to ease the worsening congestion. They have sought the removal of encroachments along major roads and deployment of additional traffic personnel.
Police officials, meanwhile, said the problem was partly linked to the administrative transition following Kancheepuram’s elevation as a corporation.
Though Kancheepuram has been upgraded as a municipal corporation, the police administration continues to function under the Kancheepuram district police structure. Steps are being taken to upgrade it into a separate Kancheepuram city police commissionerate, officials said.
Once the city police structure is established and additional personnel and officers are sanctioned, the traffic management issues are expected to be addressed, police officials said.
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