Mahatma Gandhi Road (Thiruvananthapuram)


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, 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.
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 junctions.
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: