IT consultant restores order in traffic chaos at critical junction

Abhiramapuram resident and IT consultant Sridhar Venkataraman has taken it upon himself to regulate the traffic at Alamelu Mangapuram junction between 8 am and 9 am every Thursday when the stretch gets more crowded than usual. 

He realised that commuting through stretches where schools were located was a nightmare for most motorists, with cars and two-wheelers hogging major portions of the road, thus affecting vehicular movement. It’s a scenario that is usually left to the already over-stretched traffic police — or the school management — but 47-yearold Sridhar Venkataraman didn’t want to be a mere spectator.

He has been going to the Alamelu Mangapuram junction near the Sai Baba temple since the last one year, dressed in a reflective jacket. cautiously managing the traffic. “The junction used to be extremely chaotic in the mornings when vans and parents would come to drop their children. There would be vehicles haphazardly parked, kids struggling to get inside the school premises,” says Sridhar. It becomes even worse on Thursdays as special functions are held in the schools while devotees visit the temple. This was the time that the stretch needed more traffic management. “I decided I would do my bit in the morning,” he says, wanting to make the area a little more pedestrian- friendly. 

It was because of his efforts that the shamianas on the footpaths were removed. “The temple had put up temporary structures for the devotees almost a year ago to offer them shade from the heat — but it took up a great deal of pedestrian space, forcing people to walk on the road. I filed a complaint with the Greater Chennai Corporation and it was taken down,” says Sridhar.

A former employee of PayPal, he is also associated with Arappor Iyakkam, a city-based organisation that works on many civic issues, teaches part-time MBA students and likes to sort out civic issues. “I have filed several civic-issue related complaints on the corporation’s portal. The Alamelu Mangapuram junction is problematic one and it is important that citizens help in making areas around schools safe by volunteering to regulate traffic,” he says.