COIMBATORE: A college woman died in a road accident at the Arivoli Nagar junction on the newly laid Western Ring Road in Coimbatore district on Friday morning. Following the accident, around 200 residents of Arivoli Nagar near Kovaipudur began a road roko protest demanding construction of either a flyover or an underpass as it was the fourth accident at the junction in the last seven days. They said vehicles were moving at a high speed on the road. The protest that started around 11am was still going on when the report was filed on Thursday evening. The deceased has been identified as V Nirmala Devi, 22, of Anna Sathukkam in Arivoli Nagar, who studied at a private college in Kovaipudur. Nirmala Devi and four other passengers were travelling in an autorickshaw driven by Nagaraj, 30. When the autorickshaw was crossing the road at the Arivoli Nagar junction, a speeding goods autorickshaw moving towards Palakkad Road hit it. The passenger autorickshaw toppled. Devi died on the spot while others in the auto suffered injuries. They were admitted to govt hospital in Sundakkamuthur. Following the death of the young student, more than 200 residents of Arivoli Nagar blocked the Western Ring Road and held a road roko protest demanding that the authorities build a flyover or underpass at the Arivoli junction. Perur sub-division DSP Suresh and police officers held talks with the protesters. The authorities assured the residents that they would make temporary arrangements at the junction for people to cross the road. However, they refused to withdraw their protest. A resident of Orchids Apartment in Arivoli Nagar stated that this was a busy junction as schools, colleges and housing board units were located in the area. This junction became a nightmare for the residents of this area as motorists moved at a high speed on the yet-to-be-inaugurated Western Ring Road. This was the fourth accident in the last seven days. The authorities laid the road without proper planning. A flyover or underpass must be constructed at this junction to avoid accidents.
