In Padi, off CTH Road, Padavattamman Main Road leads to a famous temple, just three hundred metres down the stretch. Padavattamman Main Road is a misnomer as it is only a little wider than a lane, but even that thin advantage often seems non-existent. Thiruvalithayam Sivan Temple has devotees thronging to it on Thursdays (when Gurusthalam is observed), festival days and pradosham days. On these days, traffic pours into Padavattamman Main Road, the approach road to the temple. The scramble to get to the temple has a cascading effect on CTH Road, where traffic piles up till Legend New Saravana Stores and Padi flyover.
What actually happens is a compounding of a traffic problem inherent in this section of CTH Road. It attracts shoppers, daily commuters and long-distance travellers by droves. Long-distance buses coming from Madhavaram halt at the Padi flyover. And then there is the traffic moving into factories. Besides, Padavattamman temple located on CTH Main Road also draws people. Padavattamman temple has the character of Bodyguard Muniswaran Temple (on Pallavan Salai) with people bringing their new vehicles to have it consecrated there. Or worship there, when they are about to embark on a long journey by road.
On account of the traffic snarls, ambulances often get stuck, affecting people who seek care in hospitals nearby including DRJ Hospital on Kolathur-Korattur Road, ICF Hospital at ICF Shell as well as those heading to hospitals elsewhere via this section.
And a new mall (near Lucas TVS) is coming up on this section of CTH Road.
Given the structural limitations, design interventions to ease traffic cannot be effected on this section. The only solution is traffic regulation through increased manual policing.
At present, the daily traffic flow on CTH Road especially during school and college opening and closing hours, morning and evening rush hour overwhelms road users.
When the upcoming mall becomes operational, the traffic situation is going to get knottier still.
Residents want the traffic police to increase traffic regulation right away. In the morning rush hour, their presence is felt, but not in the evening, and the section gets chock-a-block with vehicles moving bumper to bumper.
(C. Balasubramanian is a resident of Padi)
Published – October 27, 2025 11:32 am IST
