Poor condition of Erumapalayam Road in Salem hits traders and residents

Residents and traders at Kitchipalayam in Salem have been enduring the hardship caused to them by the underground drainage works that have been going on for a decade.. The recent rain made it more difficult for vehicle users and pedestrians, especially the elderly.

Residents and traders at Kitchipalayam in Salem have been enduring the hardship caused to them by the underground drainage works that have been going on for a decade.. The recent rain made it more difficult for vehicle users and pedestrians, especially the elderly.

Erumapalayam Main Road in Kitchipalayam comes under Ward 44 of the Salem Corporation. Two roads that branch off from the main road -- one leading to Kitchipalayam Police Station Road and the other to Gugai Main Road -- have many scrap shops, truck body-building workshops, and vehicle repair shops.

The locality has cinemas and more than 10 two-wheeler parking stands and tenements built by the Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board. The works that have been going on for long have affected the traders and the two-wheeler parking stands, and led to a drastic reduction in the number of people coming to the cinemas.

H. Shahul Hameed, a resident of Devendrapuram, said roads had been dug up over the last 10 years for laying the underground sewer lines. What adds to the agony of the public is water from a stream overflowing on the road during rain. Incidents of people falling into pits filled with water have been reported. Two college students fell into a pit and passersby helped them out, Mr. Shahul Hameed said. Absence of streetlights leads to incidents of robbery in the vicinity of the cinemas, he said.

Ward 44 councillor M. Imayavarman of Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi said various issues had delayed the work. The works had resumed and would be speeded up.