Coimbatore, Nov 2:
Strong winds bring sand dust into Avinashi and Mettupalayam National highways in Coimbatore, which makes driving a horrible experience for the motorists.
NH67 runs between Coimbatore and Mettupalayam for about 35 km. Mettupalayam road is a busy arterial road. It is the main road to Udhagamandalam and nearly 12 lakh vehicles pass through this road on an average, daily.
People from areas between Coimbatore and Mettupalayam road are coming to Coimbatore city to work in various Government offices and private companies and factories. Most of them commute by two wheelers as well as four wheelers. They choose the latter because sand dust makes driving difficult for them.
Meanwhile on the NH 47 Avinashi road also drivers and riders face the same difficulty because of sand dust. This road connects Coimbatore to its airport and north-east suburbs.
“Even though I am wearing helmet sand dust enters through the visor makes driving a terrible affair. Both sides of the roads have quite a lot of sand. I used to see some conservancy workers clearing the sand about a year ago. Now it has stopped ,” regretted J.B. Karthick, an employee of a private company.
Motorists alleged that extension work of four-way track on Mettupalayam road is dead slow. The sides of the road are dumped with sand and this makes driving a miserable experience.
“Extension work near gas company area on the Mettupalayam road should be speeded up. If there were to be rains, the public are put to great hardship . There is every chance of accidents occurring because of sand dust. Highways officials should take immediate action,”said L. Rajkumar, a motorist.
“In our modern life most of the people have dust allergy, asthma and breathing troubles. Road-side sand along with dust cause lung infection. I request people to wear mask,” said Dr. E. Mathivanan, a general physician in private hospital.
Highways officials said sand dust on roads should be cleared regularly by local bodies. “Along with NH workers, sanitary workers of local bodies also should clear the sand on road sides,” said an official.