Citizen Connect: Bad roads, gaping manholes give residents commuting nightmares

Traveling by car on the Nesapakkam Main Road is a tedious task as plumes of dust keep rising throughout the day. The road is dug up at various places too, say residents. 

The arterial road sees heavy as it is an important bus route which connects the Ashoka Pillar point to the Nesapakkam Main Road. On an average, residents say, there are at least 50 incidents of vehicle collisions or near-collisions every day. 

Ranganathan, 50, a tender coconut seller, who has his stall on the Nesapakkam Main Road, said, “most of the incidents involve two-wheelers. The stretch has been neglected by the authorities for the past two years. We have complained to senior officials but no action has been taken yet. They have been repairing and re-laying fairly good roads in the area and neglecting this.” 

Some residents said the roads in the area were being dug up for a rainwater harvest project. Lakshmi P, 47, a homemaker, said those who dropped their children to schools nearby were finding it extremely difficult to negotiate the stretch. “The road is in a bad shape with many trenches. I have to hop and leap over them and make sure my children don’t fall. I hope the authorities take immediate action and close the trenches,” she said. 

Manholes lids too are badly damaged. Recently, a youth, riding a two-wheeler was killed in a road accident as the vehicle fell in a manhole.  Damaged stretches namely Anna Main Road in MGR Nagar, PT Rajan Salai in KK Nagar and Nesapakkam Main Road needed urgent attention, they said. 

Raj Purush, 21, a resident, said the road gradient was uneven at Anna Main Road in MGR Nagar, a busy stretch. “This is dangerous for the users as the probability of two-wheelers skidding at the spot is high,” he said. 

Commuters said it was dreadful to negotiate the stretch during the rain. The number of accidents spiral during the rain, they said. Shriram R, 20, a college student said, “I have been a resident of KK Nagar for more than 10 years now. These roads were dug up for a rainwater harvesting plan. The road has been like this for a while now.” Residents said repeated complaints to the Greater Chennai Corporation and the earlier ward councillor had fallen on deaf ears.