The Millers Road-Purasawalkam High Road junction is much trodden, being treated to the footwear of those standing on both sides of display cases at the shops on Purasawalkam High Road: shoppers and shopkeepers. On the way to these shops, their ability to keep a stiff upper lip and take unruly motoring behaviour in their stride is challenged at this junction. Obviously, those associated with the shopping experience constitute just one section of the suffering pedestrian population out there; there are also school students and regular commuters finding the going tough at this junction.

Schools nearby include ELM. Fabricius Higher Secondary School on Purasawalkam High Road and Kola Saraswathi Vaishnav Higher Secondary School on Barnaby Road. Further away on Ormes Road are other schools (CSI Bain’s School and Shri M. Ct. Muthiah Memorial Matriculation Higher Secondary School), some of whose students also navigate this junction.

In the absence of traffic signals at this junction (removed on account of Metro Rail work) and with the alternative regulatory mechanism proving less than impressive, there are multiple rules for motorists, each of them free to script their own. A ready example can be seen rolling down Brick Kiln Road, which is the third component of the intersection.

Vehicular traffic is fed into this junction through Brick Kiln Road , often illegally with motorists taking a forbidden right turn at the junction.

CMRL work (Phase II Corridor 3; for the visually oriented, Purple Line), has redrawn the contours of this junction. But that should not be an excuse for lack of traffic regulation. The staff working at the shops on Purasawalkam High Road point out that the junction does not have traffic police personnel. In the absence of traffic signals, their presence would be hugely valuable. Instead, a lone CMRL marshal watches over the junction, but presence instils little fear in motorists, who do not slow down for the pedestrians to cross the junction. Motorists who follow traffic rules conscientiously are also in for a rude shock often as they are up against those motorists who throw those rules to the wind.

These shop workers come from various other parts of the city: Ayanavaram, Otteri, Vysarpadi and Korratur, to name a few localities. They seek a safe passage through the junction.

Published - August 16, 2026 07:04 pm IST