Mahatma Gandhi Road (Thiruvananthapuram)

MG Road view

Mahatma Gandhi Road is the most important north-south road in Thiruvananthapuram City situated in the state of Kerala, India. The road starts from the busy place of East Fort and ends in the Museum Road. The road is maintained by the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation.

Alignment

Its southern beginning point is at Overbridge Junction near Central Railway Station and ends at LMS Junction, near Palayam in the north. It is one of the main business streets in the city and always carries heavy traffic. Earlier, the road to the south of Overbridge Junction, till East Fort Junction, also was a part of MG Road, but was later renamed, after widening to 6-lane, to Swatantra Sarani (or Free Way), though it is still known by its former name. The road continues further southwards as Kovalam Road.

Landmarks

The F=fort can still be seen to the west, and is a bustling business area. Its southern extremes constitute the main wholesale business district of Trivandrum, namely Chalai Bazaar. To the west is the famous Padmanabha Swamy Temple, inside the fort, the nucleus around which Trivandrum evolved in the 18th century. The city bus stand is also located near here. The second entry of Trivandrum Central Railway Station also opens, through Power House Road, to MG Road at Pazhavangady, which is also famous for its Ganesha temple.

Important landmarks of the city like the Secretariat, housing various government offices, University College and Pazhavangadi temple are located on this 2 km stretch.

Development works

North of Overbridge Junction, the road is in various stages of being widened to six lanes, a part of the Capital Road Improvement Project. The project was expected to complete in a year.^[1]

Being the capital, the road is often blocked by various protest marches. The entire city often used to face this difficulty as MG Road was the main arterial road. To overcome this problem, an underpass from Senate Hall Circle now runs below the Martyrs' Square and ends to the east of Palayam, to the north of Connemara Market, on the main road to the Railway Station. A flyover is planned from Thakarapparambu across MG Road to Powerhouse Road as well.

Public transit

Many buses servicing the city and its suburbs run through MG Road. The main bus stops located on the road are:

Northwards:
East Fort
Ayurveda College
Statue
Palayam

Southwards:
VJT Hall
Statue
Overbridge Junction
East Fort

Junctions

MG Road in Thiruvananthapuram is the largest road in the state of Kerala in terms of size and traffic. Since the MG Road is the longest and widest road in Kerala, it naturally has many junctions. In total the road passes through main 10 / 11 (Palayam is even divided into 2 more junctions) junctions.

• East Fort Junction – This is the beginning junction of the MG Road. It is situated in East Fort (main road). There is a Gandhi Park located at this spot. The road towards the left connects the West Fort while the road towards the right connects the Chala, Thiruvananthapuram. The Thiruvananthapuram City Bus Station is located in this junction. There are shopping malls and cinema theatres nearby.
• Pazhavangadi Junction – This is the second junction of the MG Road. There is a Ganesha temple here (undertaken by the army). The road towards the left connects the Padmavilasom Road and the road on the right connects straight to the 2nd terminal of the Trivandrum Central railway station.
• Thakaraparambu Junction – On the left it connects to the Thakaraparambu Road and to the right it connects to the Power House Road.
• Overbridge Junction – This is the biggest junction in the city . On the left it connects the Chettikulangara Road and toward the right it connects Thampanoor. It is the major commercial area of the Thiruvananthapuram city in Kerala state, South India. The major railway station of the state, Trivandrum Central, is also located here.
• Ayurveda College Junction – This is the 5th Junction of the MG Road. It is just 1/2 a km from the Over Bridge. The junction is situated close to many shops like Pothys and Bhima, and pubs like Purple Lounge. The biggest stationery shop in Kerala is also here. On the left it connects the Dhanya-Remya Theatre Road and on the right it connects the Jacob's Junction.
• Pulimoodu Junction – A variety of shops and offices are located here.
• Statue Junction – There is a big statue of T. Madhava Rao and so it is called Statue or Statue Junction. On the left it connects the Statue Road and on the right is the Kerala Government Secretariat.
• Spencer Junction – On the left is the University College and there is a small road in between the college and a Spencer Shop which leads to Palayam-Airport Road. On the right there is a road connecting directly to the Bakery Junction. The Canara Bank Office is also here.
  Palayam is known as the heart of the city because it is in the center of the city. Palayam is also famous for a religious confluence where one can find all the major three religions at one point: Palayam St Joseph Church, Palayam Juma Masjid and a Palayam Ganapathi Temple. The Chandrasekharan Nair Stadium and the CONNEMARA MARKET are also here. Palayam is divided into two junctions:
  • Palayam Junction 1 – On the left it leads to the University of Kerala and to the city underpass while the road on the right leads to the City Press Road.
  • Palayam Junction 2 – On the left it leads to the Kerala Legislative Assembly Complex Road and the road on the right leads to the flyover in bakery junction.
• LMS compound/Museum Junction - This is the final junction of the Thiruvananthapuram City MG Road. On the left it leads to PMG junction and the road on the right leads to the Museum Road.

Gallery

Wikimedia Commons has media related to MG Road, Thiruvananthapuram.

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  Mahathma Gandhi Road
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  MG Road at Palayam
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  A view of MG Road
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  VJT Hall in MG Road, Palayam

References

1. ↑ "Front Page : 39 shops demolished for MG Road widening". The Hindu. 2007-03-25. Retrieved 2013-10-20.