Poor lighting facilities lead to fatal mishaps

CHENNAI: The future of Anand Murthy, 25, a budding cricket player ended abruptly. Thanks to the lack of lighting facilities at the newly constructed flyover and on the adjacent roads in Koyambedu, Anand Murthy, who was returning home after a round of cricket practice, fell off the bridge and died on the spot. It was 10pm when Murthy fell off the bridge, unable to gauge the end of the bridge as there were no lighting facilities present. Anand Murthy was not the only one to have met this fate. So far, 16 persons have died in road accidents due to poor lighting facilities and poor maintenance of the flyover and the road. Though the flyover has brought down the traffic congestion at the Koyambedu junction, it has turned out to be a dangerous zone for motorists.While the entire bridge did not have any sort of lighting facility, motorists using the flyover also face another problem – a narrow landing towards the southern side. “The entire bridge is wide but on the southern side it ends narrowly, which  is another reason for more accidents on the bridge,” said a senior traffic officer.Not long ago, an auto-driver lost control and rammed into the median of the bridge on the narrow tapering wing and died on the spot. Many two-wheeler riders have suffered broken legs on the bridge, added the officer.In 2009, the total number of accidents reported in the area was only 115 and nine of them fatal. But in 2010, the total number of accidents increased to 212 and the number of fatal incidents also increased to 28. In the first five months of 2011, 112 people met with accidents, out of which 16 were killed, perhaps the worst incidence in the past three years. This is definitely a cause of concern for the city managers.The other accident prone zone is on the Poonamallee High Road heading towards Maduravoyal. The entire stretch of road does not have street lights and is covered by layers and layers of dust that kicks up a thick blanket of smokescreen every time a vehicle passes by. “How is it possible to ride when the dust occupies the entire stretch and also fills the air,” said Kumar, a two-wheeler user in Koyambedu.A senior traffic police officer said that unless the Government sets up proper lighting facilities on the bridge, on the adjoining roads and builds a sub-way on Poonamallee High Road near the marriage hall owned by the DMDK chief Vijayakanth, accidents will keep on increasing in the coming days.