The Hindu 17.11.2009
Demand for scheme roads in Coimbatore city
Special Correspondent
COIMBATORE: Councillors of the Coimabtore Corporation and a citizens’ group have demanded scheme roads in the city to match the increase in the number of vehicles.
While some councillors made this demand at a Council meeting two weeks ago, the Residents’ Awareness Association of Coimbatore (RAAC) has appealed for some speedy measures to provide the city with some scheme roads and its existing thoroughfares from relief from a huge volume of traffic.
Though the demands appeared to have been timed with the preparations for the World Classical Tamil Conference in June next year, the elected members and the association wanted the facilities as a long-term solution.
Making this demand at the Council meeting, Communist Party of India (Marxist) councilor C. Padmanabhan lamented that no scheme road project had been implemented for over a decade.
“I have been a councillor for the last 13 years. I have seen a single scheme road project being implemented during this period,” he said. The councillor urged the Corporation to take up such road projects immediately.
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam councillor P. Rajkumar said Rs.30 crore to Rs.40 crore of the Coimbatore Corporation was with the Local Planning Authority. The fund was meant for development works such as scheme roads in the city. Scheme roads must be laid to decongest the existing roads in the city, he said.
Outside the Council, the RAAC gave a similar call. Vice-President of the association R.R. Balasundaram pointed out that Coimbatore was a major manufacturing city in the country. It was witnessing a rapid growth in the economic activity.
The roads were already congested and the number of vehicles was certain to increase.
Ring roads and more than 100 scheme roads were planned in 1994 Master Plan of Coimbatore.
But, unfortunately, nothing much had happened so far. In 1997, the Director of Town and Country Planning had commissioned the then Pallavan Transport Corporation to carry out a Comprehensive Traffic and Transportation Study for Coimbatore Local Planning Area. The study suggested various facilities such as roads and ring roads. But, none was taken up.
Suggestions
When the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) schemes were announced, RAAC made various suggestions on road traffic improvement. Many of these were included in the JNNURM.
These included 13 missing link roads that were expected to decongest the arterial roads. These and the proposed outer ring and inner ring roads must be laid to provide a long-term solution to the present traffic congestion.
