Digging of roads across Chennai inconveniences residents

Traffic snarls, damaged footpaths and public toilets are the common problems faced by the people owing to the construction of stormwater drains

Roads in many parts of the city have been dug up by the civic authorities for stormwater drainage (SWD) work, causing inconvenience to commuters, commercial establishments and residents. In a few places, bus shelters, well-laid granite platforms and public toilets have been demolished while trees have been uprooted, lament residents. Businesses have incurred heavy losses as roads in front of their stores have been dug up cutting off access to customers.

In Ekkattuthangal, trenches dug on the arterial Jawaharlal Nehru Road has forced pedestrians to use the road and motorists to park their vehicles along the drains, hampering traffic. “The carriageway has shrunk now and traffic movement is slow. Many residents, young and old alike, have to walk on a wooden plank placed across the trench to reach Balaji Nagar since the road has been excavated. Customers cannot take their vehicles into shops and have to park on the road,” said V. Gopalakrishnan, an Ekkattuthangal resident and social activist.

At Ashok Nagar, shops have already emerged on half-finished pavements above drains built recently and eateries have encroached on the space of stormwater drains. With shops and commercial complexes cut off from roads, the SWD work has also affected the livelihood of many. “Without any prior information, they came and dug a huge trench in front of my shop. I had no other option except to close the shop until the work is completed,” says Mohan, a shopkeeper on Dr. Ranga Road in Mylapore.

Meera Ravikumar, a civic activist in Adyar, echoes the worries of residents of other parts of the city. “The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) seems to be digging up every street where there is some waterlogging issue. I wonder if the authorities have done any feasibility study on the need for SWD in a particular street. There can be instances of temporary waterlogging which can be resolved by various other means like rainwater harvesting wells. They are even digging up the sandy soil of Besant Nagar and Kalashetra Colony.”

However, civic woes aside, the bigger issue is safety, say residents. In June, a doctor sustained minor injuries when his car fell into a trench dug by the corporation as part of SWD work, in Adyar. A few days later, a 57-year-old bank manager was killed and two others were injured when a tree fell on the car they were travelling in K.K. Nagar. The corporation has however denied that SWD work caused the accident. Recently, a pick-up truck got stuck when a newly finished manhole gave way in K.K. Nagar, raising doubts over the quality of construction.

At places including G.N. Road, Dr. Radhakrishnan Road, Anna Salai, Arya Gowda Road and elsewhere, trenches have not been barricaded properly and have steel rods protruding from them, complain residents.

The scene on Dr. Ranga Road is alarming too as half-finished drains are seen with exposed electric cables, indicating lack of coordination among line departments. T.M. Hariharan, an advocate and resident since 1962 said, “They don’t complete the work at one place and proceed to the next. They tried to finish work quickly, but you can see the cables lying on the finished part of Dr. Ranga Road.”