Rain-battered roads cause hardship to residents

Residents face inconvenience due to waterlogged areas and damaged roads after heavy rainfall, calling for immediate repairs and restoration.

After the city received heavy rainfall in the last week, several low-lying residential areas became waterlogged, leaving the interior roads slushy and inaccessible, causing inconvenience to the residents.

Several roads in KK Nagar, Edamalaipatti Pudur, Crawford, Ramachandra Nagar, Kattur, Tiruverumbur and Karumandapam in Tiruchi have been affected by the recent rain. The poor condition of the stretches has triggered calls from residents for immediate repairs to roads that were dug up for laying the underground drainage (UGD) pipelines.

Residents complain they are finding it difficult to take their vehicles out because of the uneven closing of the dug-up roads, which have become slushy following the recent heavy rain. They said that rainwater stagnates on these damaged roads even after a short spell of rain, leaving them muddy.

The damaged and dug-up streets have been rendered unmotorable as the trenches dug up for laying the pipelines have not been properly covered. Besides dug-up roads and puddles, protruding manhole covers on the streets continue to pose a serious risk to motorists.

“After the heavy rainfall, the areas were waterlogged, and once the rainwater drained, the stretch had become slushy and slippery. These slushy roads are risky for two-wheeler riders and pedestrians, especially elders, who must try to balance on the slippery road,” said G. Vanishree, a resident of Karumandapam.

The residents of Gandhi Nagar in Crawford have urged officials to either suspend work during monsoon or undertake temporary restoration. “It’s been a year since they began the pipe laying works on the stretch, but it is still dragging on. The authorities should take steps to relay the completed portions or at least level the uneven road surface,” said Thangavel, a resident.

A senior official said the UGD works will be completed soon, and the damaged stretches will be relaid simultaneously. The civic body has allocated funds to take up restoration of the roads damaged due to rain and the dug-up roads as well.