Residents of Periyapalayam in Tiruvallur district want a bypass road to be constructed around the temple town. The present road runs via the famous Sri Bhavani Amman temple and suffers from traffic bottlenecks during peak hours on most days.
The road from Janapachathram junction to Uthurkottai witnesses traffic jams for nearly four hours and running to a length of one to two km on either side.
Rajkumar, a resident of Thandalam village, said, “Earlier we used to have traffic jams during the month of Aadi and on Tuesdays and Fridays. Now, the number of vehicles taking the Janapanchathiram to Uthukottai Road has increased exponentially. People heading to Thandalam, Palavakkam, and Uthukottai in Tamil Nadu, and Suruttupalli and Ramagiri in Andhra Pradesh take this route. Suruttupalli has the famous Palli Kondeswarar temple and Ramagiri has a Kala Bhairavar temple. For some time, access to the new road to Chittoor will also be near Uthukottai and that road has already attracted over 5,000 vehicles a day. So just imagine the kind of traffic the Periyapalayam Road is at present carrying,” he pointed out.
Social activist M. Bhaskaran said encroachments along the road were not being removed. “When they are removed, small road-side vendors are only removed. Buildings taking up space on the side of the road remain. There are two bazaars along the road, one at Kanigaiper and another at Periyapalayam. There are times when people miss out important occasions due to traffic. A bypass had been announced long back, but is yet to be constructed. Motorists from Avadi and Tiruvallur have to cross Periyapalayam to reach Siruvapuri,” he added.
