Murungapakkam junction at Puducherry-Cuddalore road turns into a traffic bottleneck

Vehicles pile up frequently at this intersection giving nightmarish experience to road users

The Murungapakkam junction has emerged as a major traffic bottleneck and people living in the city dread their daily commute to their workplace in the southern suburbs such as Thavalakuppam and Kirumambakkam .

With rapid urbanisation of the area, the junction at the arterial Cuddalore Road and the Villianur Road has become increasingly congested. A number of commercial hubs are located near the junction and lack of parking space for vehicles, thanks to encroachments, have added to the traffic woes.

Apart from those commuting from Puducherry to Cuddalore and Villianur to Murungapakkam, hundreds of persons staying in residential colonies and apartments on either side of the road till Ariyankuppam are caught in traffic jams during peak hours.

Vehicles pile up frequently at this intersection giving nightmarish experience to road users.

According to Raghuraman, a resident of Point Care Street, “I had to reach my office at Poornankuppam at 9 a.m., but due to heavy traffic, I couldn’t reach on time. Though I  had reached Murungapakkam from Nellithope in just 10 minutes, I remained stuck there for more than 25 minutes. Traffic was crawling and there was no policeman to manage the traffic snarls.”

“Though the Government aspires to provide a high level of liveability, work environment, and adequate provisions for basic utilities, road infrastructure in the city remains very poor. Though the residents pay road taxes, the government does not provide us with good roads,” says D. Govindarajan, a businessman of Kombakkam.

Poor traffic management, bad condition of roads, lack of pedestrian facilities, failure on the part of motorists to follow rules, and haphazard parking contribute to the problem.