Aluva: Frustrated by the persistent failure of the police and the Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) to rein in unauthorized parking along the market service road, local residents took matters into their own hands, cordoning off the road shoulders with metal drums and ribbon.

Commuters heading toward Uliyannoor and Kunjunnikkara from the service road near the Aluva General Market have long been enduring severe hardship due to the narrow stretch being blocked by haphazardly parked vehicles.

With both large and small vehicles lining the bottleneck, cars and emergency vehicles bound for Kunjunnikkara, Uliyannoor, Eloorkkara, and Muppathadam struggle to squeeze through. Traffic snarl-ups have become a daily ordeal here.

Tensions boiled over after a recent accident on this stretch in which a woman and her children riding a two-wheeler were struck and injured by a private bus. With authorities still turning a blind eye despite the mishap, residents set up makeshift barriers using oil barrels tied together with ribbon to physically block vehicles from parking along the roadside.

The residents have demanded that officials reduce the width of the median to widen the carriageway for smoother two-way traffic and immediately install ‘No Parking’ signboards along the stretch.