Gandhi Mandapam Road, meant as an alternative to Anna Salai, sees traffic congestion too

Traffic in Kotturpuram has been particularly clogged near the Sardar Patel Road–Gandhi Mandapam Road junction, especially during peak hours-both morning and evening. In the evening rush hour vehicles crawl along Gandhi Mandapam Road, with long wait times at the signal.

The free flow of traffic was affected on Cenotaph Road and Gandhi Mandapam Road after traffic diversions were imposed near LR Swami junction on April 20, owing to the ongoing construction work of the four-lane elevated corridor by the Highways Department on GST Road from Teynampet to Saidapet. So all those who use Anna Salai have to take left turn near LR Swami junction on Anna Salai(All vehicles coming from Teynampet towards Saidapet are diverted via Cenotaph Road  Turnbulls Junction, right turn towards Chamiers Road (Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar Road),  Nandanam Junction, and left/right turn towards Anna Salai to reach their destination.

Traffic snarls at Kotturpuram Road near Cancer Hospital junction as diversions and heavy vehicle movement lead to major congestion.
| Photo Credit:
S.R. RAGHUNATHAN

L.Prakash, motorist and resident of Chitra Nagar, said, “ all people returning from their offices on the Teynampet side prefer  Gandhi Mandapam road instead of Chamiers Road, Nandanam, Anna Salai as the carriage way on YMCA and Saidapet has already shrunk. So the entire traffic was routed through Gandhi Mandapam Road. Consequently, the road is now choked with vehicles from Kotturpuram police station to Cancer Institute. One always has to wait a long time at the junction and it is a harrowing experience for the people using two-wheelers and four wheelers.

Residents who have lived for a long time in Kotturpuram, have a different story to tell about the traffic menace. Aruna Sivakumar, secretary of Kottur Gardens Residents Association, said, “ It is very difficult for us  to move in a car out of our area or come back home. Sometimes, the traffic chokes the road from Kotturpuram bridge to the signal and again from the police station to Sardarpatel Road junction.” 

M.P.Badrinath, another resident of Kottur Gardens, said, “ I have been living here for a long time but I have never seen a traffic jam in all those years. Most of us have accounts with a nationalised bank on other side of the road, which we used to cross easily earlier. Now it is very tough to cross the road  for us, senior citizens, since additional traffic is moving. If the red signal is on, the road is completely blocked. We can not come out from our colony or come inside.”   

However,  a senior official of Greater Chennai City Traffic Police said as far as Gandhi Mandapam road is concerned, there is an increase of over 30% vehicles. “We have taken certain measures on Sardar Patel road and they yielded results on both Sardar Patel Road and Gandhi Mandapam road. There is now free flow of traffic in the morning hours on these roads,” he claimed.

He added that the police has asked the line department to relay the road on Sardar Patel Road where the road had shrunken due to pits on the side.