News Detail

• A kind of myopia seems to afflict the civic authorities: after the monsoon rains left few patches of roads intact, the corporation plunged into re-laying the battered roads.But the authorities seem to have clear vision as far as upmarket areas are concerned and their vision blurs as they proceed towards neglected north Chennai and the long-suffering suburbs of the city.Several roads in north Chennai and the suburbs, both bus route roads and interior roads, continue to remain neglected.
• Local administration authorities might have started repair works on a few stretches - filling potholes with patches - but it has further affected free flow of vehicles, particularly two-wheelers, because of hasty and incomplete works.During the monsoon, the civic authorities said they would repair all the rain-battered roads within a day or two provided they get a break from the rains.However, it is more than a month since the rains stopped but re-laying and repair works have not gained much pace.Motorists in the city are having a nightmarish experience when they ride through a few arterial roads and interior streets.
• While the authorities are concentrating on upmarket areas like Anna salai, Radhakrishnan salai and Cathedral road, the road connecting high court and Burma bazaar, the one near dental college, a few stretches of Paper Mills Road, Madhavaram high road, Taramani link road, Ganesapuram bridge road, Konnur high road and Pilkington road are among the few bad roads in neglected north Chennai, besides fourth avenue in Anna nagar.“I travel from Thiru.Vi.Ka. Nagar to my office in Kilpauk daily through paper mills road and Pilkington road which mostly do not draw the attention of the authorities. Water discharged from a few hotels and tea shops at night continue to damage the 100-metre stretch on paper mills road, near Gandhi statue,” complains Mr Madhu, a stock broker from Thiru.Vi.Ka. nagar.
• And, MTH road at Padi that connects Ambattur can very well be awarded the top place in the list of worst-affected roads in the city. Motorists and other vehicles have a harrowing experience every day.Two-wheeler riders are the worst affected since they encounter the most accidents, though minor, while riding through the battered roads, says advocate Ranganathan of Korattur.While the public appeal to the authorities to re-lay the roads, they also stress that quality roads must be laid in neglected north Chennai and the suburbs.
• Bad roads take a toll on users’ healthA 'Singara Chennai’ with well-paved roads is the last of the worries of the common man, especially vehicle-users. It has become a major health issue for them that the battered roads are grossly neglected.MTC bus drivers complain of back pain and it takes least an hour more to complete a trip for them, increasing their stress levels.For two-wheeler riders, bad roads have become ‘back-breakers’.During the recent monsoon, the city transport provider had complained about the bad roads to Chennai corporation, hoping the civic officials would give preference to the bus route roads.
• But the ordeal continues for MTC bus drivers as many of the roads have not been properly repaired or works are yet to start. MTC wrote to the corporation after the number of punctures increased alarmingly in November last year.Says an MTC driver of route No. 70 that plies from Tambaram to Ambattur, “Driving in the city roads have turned out to be a punishment as completing a trip itself appears a herculean task these days because of bad roads and congestion. Several places on 100 feet road and the entire stretch between Padi and Ambattur are severely affected.
• ” He adds that metro rail works, along with bad roads, compound their woes by delaying the completion of trips at least by an hour. “Vadapalani-Porur stretch is also a nightmare for drivers,” he points out.And, two-wheeler riders are the worst affected among road-users. Bad roads have been the main culprit for back problems among them. “Doctors say even a few metres of uneven road or a pothole could greatly affect the spinal cord of two-wheeler riders. If we take a 100 metre stretch of a bad road, there will be at least 25 places that can impact your backbone.
• But, almost all interior roads in the city and suburbs have remained back-breakers for years,” rues Mr S. Prabhakaran, a private firm employee who now travels only by bus after his back got greatly affected because of riding two-wheelers on bad roads for a long time.“Vellala street connecting Ayanavaram and Anna nagar, Chellappan street connecting Otteri and Purasawalkam, Madurasamy madam street connecting paper mills road and Madhavaram high road,Kaliamman koil street connecting Koyambedu and Arcot road are among the hundreds of badly affected interior roads in the city. Authorities should also give priority to repair interior roads,” said Mr K. Ramadoss, Exnora activist from Ayanavaram.

Civic body responds

• l Acknowledging that they have to give priority to a few upmarket areas when it comes to road maintenance works, a senior corporation official told Deccan Chronicle that they had set a March deadline for completion of repair works.“Though we have given four months to contractors for completion of works from January, they have been instructed to complete the works quickly, before March.We are continuously working towards restoring the battered roads. Since we can do repair works only at night, one cannot expect re-laying to be completed in a few days,” the official pointed out.He also added that 100 feet road was under the maintenance of the state highways and the stretch near Koyambedu-Chinmaya nagar belonged to CMDA. However, he agreed that badly affected roads in Padi, Ambattur, Vadapalani and Perambur were with the civic body.

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