Sasthamangalam junction in the city witnessed hours-long traffic snarls on Saturday following an inordinate delay in removing the snapped branches of a banyan tree.
The branches, which snapped on Friday night, dangerously overhung one of the lanes, forcing the police to place a barricade and divert traffic.
As traffic slowed to a crawl on the roads leading off the busy junction on Saturday morning, Sasthamangalam ward councillor S. Madhusoodanan Nair launched a fund collection drive to hire a private party to cut down the branches alleging failure of State government machinery in handling the emergency.
