Commuters' ride through hell made worse by NHAI's indifference in Kerala
What has added to the misery of travellers is the alleged refusal of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to temporarily fill potholes at the sites of ongoing highway development projects.
To manage the serpentine queue of vehicles, traffic police have been forced to effect detours at least at three places. However, heavy vehicles like container trucks and luxury contract carriages cannot take the narrow bylanes.
For over six months, this crucial artery has been in a state of perpetual gridlock. It has worsened now, with a journey that once took a little over an hour now consuming three or more, causing immense frustration and inflicting economic losses.
'Interstate night service buses are getting delayed by several hours. There is a heavy rush with the weekend holidays. Today, almost all services, which should have reached Ernakulam by morning, could make it only by noon. At a couple of points, the buses could not move an inch for nearly an hour. The story is same while returning. We are forced to speed up once we pass the section. This is costing us extra Rs 2,000 to 3,000 towards fuel expenses,' said Rijas A J, in-charge of Sona Travels.
'The vehicles are mainly getting stuck at the construction sites, where traffic is being diverted through pothole-filled service roads. The potholes have turned craters at some sections. This is gross negligence by authorities. They should have first repaired the service roads before diverting traffic,' he said.
At key choke points like Amballoor, Perambra, Muringoor, Chirangara and Koratty, work on multiple underpasses is progressing simultaneously, effectively reducing the main four-lane highway to a single, chaotic lane.
'The service roads have deteriorated, especially at sites where the works are progressing. The vehicle congestion starts early morning itself now. We have started diverting smaller vehicles from Pongam (Angamaly-Thrissur direction) and before Amballoor Junction and Muringoor (in the Thrissur-Angamaly direction). There are numerous potholes in these places which are affecting traffic,' said Sheena, a traffic constable who was having a hard time managing vehicles at Muringoor on Thursday.
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