Chennai: Traffic on NSC Bose Road up for a toss – Times of India

CHENNAI: Traffic on NSC Bose Road and Koyambedu was thrown off gear on Wednesday as people thronged the streets for festival shopping. There was hardly any space for motorists to commute as roadside vendors encroached space.
Traffic police, who did not plan any major arrangements or changes, placed a few barricades and were seen busy trying to streamline vehicles, but wit little impact. Caution was thrown to the winds as shoppers and sellers did not bother to maintain social distancing or use masks. In Koyambedu too, traffic was disrupted due to special buses being operated ahead of festival holidays.
One shopper said there was no space left for pedestrians to walk on the Rattan Bazaar Road. The vendors occupied the entire stretch for selling fruits and flowers. Drivers parked their autorickshaws in the middle of the road and were seen bargaining with customers or unloading goods. Though all shop owners were instructed by the corporation not to sell provisions to those who came without masks, none of them bothered to follow the rules.
Traffic police cited heavy shopping rush as the reason for the prolonged traffic snarls. Many motorists told TOI that they experienced unusual traffic congestion right from Broadway bus terminus extending to NSC Bose Road and Rattan Bazaar.
Since many people parked their vehicles in a haphazard manner, traffic cops impounded a few bikes. This action, however, did not deter people from parking their vehicles.
Padmanaban, a regular commuter, said traffic jams are a daily affair on the NSC Bose Road, but it got particularly chaotic due to the festival time. “Traffic regulation around the shopping area was bad. People were allowed to park their vehicles at unspecified locations leading to traffic bottlenecks,” he added.
“The crowd seems to have completely forgotten about the pandemic,” he said. In Koyambedu, traffic was affected both in the morning and evening peak hours, as special buses were operated ahead of festival days. As many as 100 traffic cops were deployed.