Police barricades choke traffic, cause major snarls

Random placing of barricades helping motorists park vehicles in middle of the road

‘No parking, fine up to ₹500’, screams a signboard erected on a traffic barricade in the middle of the busy route stretching from Sri Venkateshwara Swamy temple to the Gunj Market road in the heart of the town. Ironically, the barricade has come handy for motorists to park their vehicles comfortably bang in the middle of the road.

The congested road from the RTC bus station out-gate to Prathima multiplex has also turned into a parking lot for autorickshaws with the installation of a traffic barricade. Though there is a footpath, it’s not visible to pedestrians due to illegal parking of autos and they are forced to perilously walk on the road.

These two instances and some more across the Karimnagar town has brought the role of traffic police into sharp focus with the residents blaming the cops for the road chaos. “In spite of the big parking lots for autorickshaws in the RTC bus station complex, the traffic police are helping autowallahs by providing another parking lot on the road itself, causing severe inconvenience to road users entering the bus station complex,” said a resident.

Motorists reason that they are forced to park their vehicles in the middle of the road between Venkateshwara temple to Gunj Market road as the existing parking lot at the new Annapurna complex has been encroached by fruit vendors. “If the municipal authorities and the police relocate the fruit vendors into the newly constructed model rythu bazaar on Gandhi road that is lying idle, we would be able to park the vehicles in the allocated parking lots,” suggested a vehicle user.

It is being alleged that the traffic police alone were causing traffic snarls in the town with “mindless” erection of traffic barricades. “I am surprised that the police allow parking of autos on the busy road between RTC out-gate to Prathima multiplex,” said Srinivas, a medical representative. “The installation of traffic barricade is only a boon for autowallahs as the busy road sees three rows of autos parked during the peak hours. The popping up of barricades in different parts of the town is doing more harm than good and creating traffic snarls,” he alleged.

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