K. R. Ramaswamy (1 April 1934 – 4 May 2021), referred to by the media as Traffic Ramaswamy, was an Indian public interest litigator and social activist from

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

. He was a mill worker, a founder member of

's Home Guard, and a self-appointed traffic policeman.

Activism

Much of his activism relates to regulating traffic in Chennai and filing public interest lawsuits in court. Initially he started unofficially directing traffic at the city's busy Parrys Corner.''Chennai Best'' The local police were pleased with his efforts and provided him with an official identity card. He acquired the nickname ''Traffic'' Ramaswamy after that. He has brought many public interest lawsuits in the

Madras High Court The High Court of Judicature at Madras is a High Courts of India, High Court located in Chennai, India. It has appellate jurisdiction over the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry. It is one of ...

as well as

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India is the supreme judiciary of India, judicial authority and the supreme court, highest court of the Republic of India. It is the final Appellate court, court of appeal for all civil and criminal cases in India. It also ...

. In 2007, he was attacked by his opponents' lawyers on the steps of the courthouse. This was not the first time, he has been attacked: in 2002, he was assaulted by fish sellers after he obtained a ban on the use of motorized fish carts. His family later disowned him. He has also had his office ransacked and papers were stolen. However, helped by donations from friends and public he claimed he would ''continue his fight'' to make ''Chennai the most livable and lovable city'', his Advocate Mr. S. Ganesan helping him to file PIL case from 2007. His activism has resulted in the demolition of many illegally constructed buildings in Chennai, restrictions on motorized fish carts, decongestion of major bus routes by banning auto rickshaws from them, and a review of lavish state funding for a feature film (arguing the money could be more properly used for development work). He was accompanied day and night by an armed police bodyguard appointed by the Madras High Court. His work in the removal and banning of illegally placed hoardings received renewed public interest in September 2019 following the traffic death of Chennai-based engineer Subasri. She had been traveling on her two-wheeler when an illegally placed banner of the

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (; AIADMK, also abbreviated as ADMK), also shortened to Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, is an Indian Regionalism (politics), regional political party with great influence in the Federated state, sta ...

fell from a height of approximately 15 feet directly in front of her two-wheeler causing her to lose control and fall to the ground and be crushed by a water tanker lorry coming from behind her which was unable to halt in time.

Death

On 4 May 2021, Ramaswamy died in Chennai at the age of 87. His death was reported to be due to battling complications of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, Chennai.

Popular culture

A biopic titled '' Traffic Ramasamy'' on the life of Traffic Ramaswamy was directed by debutant Vicky in which the father of Vijay and director S. A. Chandrasekhar had played the titular role.

References

External links

''Chennai Best'', "Battling for the Cause of Chennai Citizens"
Retrieved: 9 July 2007

Retrieved: 10 July 2007

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramaswamy, Traffic People from Chennai 2021 deaths Activists from Tamil Nadu 1934 births Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in India