As monsoon sets in, Chennai Corporation to begin work on improving pavements

GCC to revamp 17 bus route roads & interior roads in Chennai at Rs. 9.89 cr. to enhance pavements & avoid road accidents. Differently-abled friendly audits & raised platforms in bus stops to be provided. Paver blocks around installations to be checked. Wind-resistant trees & one-side pavements with strategic zebra crossings to be provided.

Owing to vocal demands from residents and civic rights activists to repair and improve the city’s pavements before the onset of heavy rains and to avoid road accidents, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) is planning to revamp pavements on 17 bus route roads and interior roads.

The project is estimated to cost of ₹9.89 crore, falling under the Singara Chennai 2.0 Scheme 2023-24, and the State Finance Commission (SFC) 2023-24.

Over the past few weeks, concerns have been raised on social media platforms about the flooding of roads during downpours, especially in low-lying areas such as Kolathur, Mylapore, Kotturpuram and Adyar, and flood-prone locations including Tiruvottiyur, Valsaravakkam, Perungudi and Sholinganallur. 

Even without the rains, many of the city’s pavements are a dismal sights: if not covered in litter, broken or damaged, they give way to manholes, electricity poles or broken bollards. Some are so narrow, pedestrians are forced to walk in single file; while others just peter out into nothing, with an abrupt drop on to the carriageway. Trenches and dug-up spaces across the city make the situation worse, forcing pedestrians to walk on the road, at risk to both themselves and motorists.

“Inundated roads will force pedestrians, especially schoolchildren, to rely on damaged footpaths to walk on,” a resident of Mada Street in Mylapore said.

Aiswarya Rao, a disability rights activist and founder of the Better World Shelter, emphasised the need for audits by local bodies to guarantee pavements that are accessible to persons with disabilities. Ms. Rao pointed out that persons with disabilities could not avail of the same opportunities as others, due to mobility restrictions, and these began at the road level, with inaccessible footpaths.

Saravanan, also a disability rights activist, highlighted the challenges faced by persons with disabilities (PwDs) in market and temple areas like Koyambedu and Mylapore. “Raised platforms at bus stops and garbage disposal on sidewalks makes it more difficult for elderly individuals and PwDs to access public spaces,” he said