KOCHI: Traffic bottlenecks have become severe along the Banerji Road, with commuters taking more than 15 minutes to cover a few hundred metres during the rush hour. Officials with the Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) and the City Traffic Police attributed the issue on the Edappally-High Court stretch to the renovation work on the North Rail Overbridge (ROB). A sudden increase in the vehicular population in Kochi was also blamed. “Even though we have enforced traffic diversions as part of the North ROB renovation, we have not been able to eliminate traffic congestion caused by the work. With barricades erected on both sides of the ROB, the road becomes extremely narrow on reaching the bridge. The problem worsens as the 4-lane Edappally-High Court Road suddenly changes into a two-lane road,” said K S Baby Vinod, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Traffic).“The problem of pedestrians crossing the road frequently is also very high along the stretch, especially given the huge crowd that arrives from the Ernakulam Town Railway Station,” he added.Meanwhile, MVD officials noted that the number of vehicles has increased rapidly in recent times. “The vehicular population in the city has witnessed a steep rise recently. With more and more private vehicles using the road, the traffic congestion has also increased. This, combined with the ongoing work on the North ROB, leads to severe traffic snarls along the route,” said P A Sainudeen, Deputy Transport Commissioner, Kochi.
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