Tirupati: Road works increase traffic woes

Tirupati: For the two-wheelers, four-wheelers and buses using Tirumala by-pass road in the temple city of Tirupati, especially from Central Bus Station to Nandi Circle (near Kapilateertham), driving all the day on this stretch has become an acutely distressing experience.

With the ongoing works for the construction of 6-km long elevated expressway - “Garuda Varadhi”, the space available for the road users has been congested, with which traffic snarls has become quite common here and the time taken to reach Alipiri from Central bus  station is also becoming longer than expected.

It may be recalled that in a bid to ease the traffic on the city roads, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) and Municipal Corporation of Tirupati (MCT) jointly took up the project, for which they are going to spend `624 crore and it is expected to be completed in the next two years if the works continue as per schedule.

However, the works were grounded a month ago and since then the citizens and pilgrims, using this stretch, has been facing harrowing experiences with traffic woes created by the narrowed roads.

It was felt by several that the authorities have commenced the flyover works without providing any alternative routes to the commuters.  

And, the traffic woes are not only limited to the commuters using this stretch, but also those who are using the roads linked with Padmavathi Puram Circle, Srinivasa Kalyana mandapam, Lakshmi Puram and Ramanuja circles are also facing hurdles with huge traffic congestions, as the proposed elevated expressway was also coming up here along the way.    

Meanwhile, the traffic police were also facing difficulties in controlling the heavy traffic movement and it has become an arduous task to them to clear the traffic jams. The narrow width of the roads, heavy movement of buses bounded to Tirumala and the encroachments on Tiruchanoor road are all challenges for those managing the traffic.

However, in order to solve the woes, the police department has deployed more number of traffic personnel on this stretch during the day to regulate vehicle movement. They have divided the city into six zones and allotted one SI and ASI rank officer along with a constable and a home guard to regulate the traffic from 9 am to 1 pm and 4.30 pm to 9 pm, which is considered to be the peak hours.

Meanwhile, it may be noted that several minor accidents were also being reported on this stretch due to the barrier gates constructed in the middle of the roads. On Tuesday, an APSRTC bus also rammed into a barrier gate, erected near Municipal Park on Tirumala by-pass road. However, none has injured in the incident.