Residents demand speed breakers on arterial road to prevent accidents

Residents demand speed breakers on arterial road to prevent accidents

Residents blocked the busy Arakkonam - Tiruttani High Road, which is maintained by the State Highways, at Thanigaipolur village near Arakkonam town on Saturday, demanding speed breakers to prevent road accidents.

This comes after a 27-year-old two-wheeler rider, S. Kathirvel, a local, fractured his legs after he hit a car, which was returning to Chennai from Tirupati, early in the day. Immediately, other motorists and passersby came to his rescue and shifted him to the Government Taluk Hospital in Arakkonam town. “Saturday’s accident was the sixth one in the village on the route in the past two months. The stretch remains busy because it is the shortest route to reach Tirupati from Chennai and nearby districts,” said K. Sadaiyan, a resident.

The residents said that rash driving by motorists, especially cabs that take tourists to pilgrim centres, was a major reason for frequent accidents on the route, which has more than 38 farming villages. Locals use the stretch to pick up and drop their children in government schools. Farmers transport their farm products in tractors to the nearest agricultural storage depot on the stretch.

However, residents said that the two-lane stretch does not have an adequate space for pedestrians and two-wheelers. The narrow carriageway does not have a median to ensure the safety of motorists coming from both directions. The motorists have to depend on the headlight of their vehicles at night as the road does not have reflectors, caution sign boards, and barricades to alert them. Petitions to district administration in Ranipet have been given regularly by residents and social activists to provide safety measures on the route. No concrete steps have been taken so far, the residents said.

Based on the alert, Arakkonam Taluk police and officials of State Highways pacified the residents. They also assured them of taking necessary steps, including creation of speed breakers, on the accident prone spots along the stretch soon. 

Officials of State Highways said that the two-lane stretch is around 25-kms long. The carriageway of the stretch is only 10 metres wide. As the stretch is on the pilgrim route, more vehicular movement is witnessed on the route every day. At present, a portion of the stretch is being widened under the Chennai-Kanyakumari industrial corridor project (CKICP). Additional safety features like speed breakers, truck lanes, and separate track for pedestrians are being provided. Entire work will be completed soon.