Night traffic diversion near US consulate puts motorists at risk

Chennai: Cathedral Road, along the US Consulate, has turned into Chennai's Strait of Hormuz. Every night, one flank of Cathedral Road is shut for traffic and vehicles diverted onto the opposite carriageway as part of security measures. This form of lazy policing puts the lives of motorists at risk.From 11pm to 6am, motorists heading from Gemini Flyover towards Marina Beach have to ride on the wrong side of the road. The stretch along the Consulate till Muthiah Mudali St-Cathedral Road junction is barricaded. Policemen standing guard at the US Consulate pointed out that it was for security reasons following the West Asian conflict and the subsequent protests by political parties in Chennai. "We are trying to prevent people from assembling near the Consulate," claimed a policeman.However, it's the motorists who are affected. "I was asked to ride on the wrong side of the road. It was really dangerous as cars were coming at high speed and there were no traffic policemen to monitor and regulate. This is bad as the policemen themselves are promoting wrong-side driving," said K Vasudevan, a motorist.K Ragukumar, from Anna Nagar, said he used the stretch recently and faced the same problem a few weeks ago too. "I was coming from Anna Salai and missed taking the left at Avvai Shanmugam Salai. When I drove ahead, I found that the stretch was barricaded. I had to go further down and take the left near DMS office on Anna Salai to reach Kamarajar Salai and Santhome," he said.A US Consulate spokesperson said, "The Consulate does not provide instructions to local authorities on security measures. Any measures the police take for the security of the Consulate are based on their own assessments. The Consulate is thankful for the support of the police and the positive relationship we have with local authorities."V Karthik, deputy commissioner, Mylapore, said the instruction was originally to prevent protestors from accessing the service road along the US Consulate compound wall beneath Gemini Flyover. However, motorists complained that there were neither any policemen to guide them nor any signage.Joint commissioner of police (traffic-East) P Vijayakumar said that from Thursday night the issue will be resolved. "We will just control the service lane as vehicles can be diverted, but Cathedral Road will see free movement of traffic."he said.