Traffic quagmire at Vyttila gives commuters a nightmare
The Hindu
Situation may worsen when educational institutions reopen in November
The mounting traffic chaos at Vyttila Junction, over 10 months after a six-lane flyover was commissioned at what is the biggest traffic intersection in Kerala, has led to fears that the quagmire will worsen when schools and other educational institutions reopen in November.
Traffic police, civic officials and others have expressed outrage at the inordinate delay by the State Government and PWD (NH wing) in lessening the extent of the unscientific roundabout and expansive medians beneath the flyover.
“It is shocking that assurances by the PWD and the State Government to rectify grave discrepancies in the design of the structures beneath the flyover have not materialised, despite serpentine snarls and chaotic traffic movement at the junction. The least that they should do is to make optimal use of the space available beneath the flyover, which the PWD unduly raised by building concrete formations,” said Sunitha Dixon, chairperson of Kochi Corporation’s Works Standing Committee and the councillor representing Vyttila Division.
Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi founder and Chidambaram M.P., Thol. Thirumavalavan, on Friday recalled the arduous journey of steering the party through the transition from being a radical organisation whose slogan was ‘Adanga Maru, Aththu Meeru, Thimiri Ezhu, Thiruppi Adi’ (Don’t bow down, disobey, rise up and hit back) to become an important cog in the wheel of electoral politics in Tamil Nadu today as VCK, with four MLAs and two MPs, is set to be recognised by the Election Commission of India as a ‘state party’.
Amid strike by some Loco Pilots, Railways is trying to ensure undisrupted service: Palakkad Division
The Palakkad Division of Southern Railway on Friday, said it was making all efforts to keep trains running in time amid a section of Loco Pilots continuing to strike from work with a demand for a 46-hour periodical rest.
After completing her Class XII a few years ago, Lakshmi Priya from Sivakasi faced financial constraints that prevented her from pursuing higher education. Despite her circumstances, she persevered by folding matchboxes to earn a meagre income. “I have always done this work – folding matchboxes. Many families in Sivakasi and surrounding areas do this work, from home,” said Ms.Priya who is now 19 years old. “I always wanted to learn something related to Computer Science. We did not have a proper teacher for this particular subject at school. But I managed to score 95%,” she said.
Ahead of the southwest monsoon, the officials from multiple departments were directed to carry out the standard operating procedure and ensure that all the parameters were adhered to as per the guidelines issued by the Disaster Management Plan of the Tamil Nadu government, said Theni Collector R.V. Shajeevana here on Friday.