Chaos at Richmond Circle as motorists take wrong turn

In utter disregard for traffic rules, scores of motorists zip into Residency Road and Lavelle Road from Richmond Circle, risking not just their lives but also of others.

A visit to the junction at any time of the day would reveal how two-wheeler riders and auto-rickshaw drivers take a wrong turn to reach Residency Road and enter Lavelle Road from Richmond Circle. The problem is particularly severe during school and office hours.
The barricades kept by the traffic police to discourage motorists from doing so do not appear to be working. That just one policeman regulates traffic at the junction has only emboldened the violators.

Several prominent schools are located on Residency Road. So, a large number of private vehicles and school buses are parked on the road especially between 2.30 pm and 4 pm, leading to traffic congestion till K H Road and the Richmond Road flyover.

Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic), M A Saleem, acknowledged the problem and asserted that they were regularly booking the violators. “The CCTV camera installed at the busy intersection also helps in cracking down on the violators,” he told Deccan Herald. “But people should be responsible while riding on roads. For a short cut, they are risking not only their lives but also of others. They can afford to drive just 200 metres ahead to come back on the same road.”

The traffic police have also put up barricades from motorists coming from KH Road. This is to ensure they do not take a right turn at the Richmond Circle but opt for the mandatory left turn, go till Raja Ram Mohan Roy Road and take a turn near ITC Gardenia before proceedings towards Residency Road and Lavelle Road. Still, many motorists openly flout this rule by daring to take a right turn from the KH Road-side towards Residency Road in order to reach Lavelle Road.

Vaishali, who works at an apparel store on Lavelle Road, said that motorists’ refusal to follow the traffic rules created chaos at the intersection. “Pedestrians have to be carefu­l, lest the vehicles taking a right turn at the intersection hit them,” she added.
DH News Service