Unregulated traffic leaves a world heritage town choked

Mamallapuram, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, faces traffic chaos due to lack of regulation and inadequate parking facilities.

Mamallapuram, one of the world’s heritage centres, lacks regulation of vehicular traffic, especially at weekends when chaos prevails.

More than 1,000 vehicles, especially cars and buses carrying domestic and foreign tourists, enter the town at weekends and on holidays, choking the flow of traffic on arterial roads and lanes. To add to the problem, there is no adequate or spacious parking.

Mamallapuram is located 60 km from Chennai city. It dates back to the 7th Century and was developed as a key centre of art and architecture under the patronage of the Pallava kings. In 1984, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared Mamallapuram a World Heritage Site, recognising the cultural value of the monuments, such as the Pancha Rathas, the Cave Temples, and the Shore Temples, which attract thousands of tourists.

Nearly eight million tourists visit Mamallapuram every year. All the amenities, including vehicle toll collection, are handled by the town panchayat. Vehicles entering the town are blocked on Kovalam Salai near a popular hotel in the north and near Pooncheri in the west for the entry toll collection.

Iron barricades, erected in the middle of the road, affect the free flow of vehicles. The entry toll is being collected either by employees of the town panchayat or by people engaged by private contractors.

“On most occasions, men engaged by the private contractors are not polite while handling the travellers coming to the town. Quarrels break out now and then between the drivers of vehicles or locals with those who collect the toll,” says Arul, a taxi driver from Chennai.

There is no signboard to show the direction to the five main parking areas. One will have to search endlessly for the parking lot. Moreover, the parking lots are not spacious enough to handle the large number of vehicles arriving at weekends.