Residents demand pedestrian underpass at Mamangam flyover in Salem

Residents in Mamangam locality demand pedestrian underpass or minor link bridge at Mamangam flyover for safety and convenience.

Residents of Anna Nagar, Thillai Nagar, and other areas in Mamangam locality in Salem city have demanded pedestrian underpass (PUP) or a minor link bridge at Mamangam flyover that is under construction.

The Mamangam Junction, which connects the city with the Bengaluru Highway, witnesses thousands of vehicles going to Omalur, Mettur, Mecheri, Dharmapuri, and Krishnagiri. Due to this, accidents are reported at the junction and the public demanded a flyover.

Salem West MLA R. Arul of Pattali Makkal Katchi met Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari in June last year and demanded a flyover. Later, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) officials inspected the junction and based on their report, work to construct the flyover began in August this year.

The 700-metre flyover from Vennankudi Muniappan Kovil will have a Vehicular Underpass (VUP) and is constructed at ₹29 crore to be completed in a year.

V. Raja, a resident of Anna Nagar, said more than 25,000 people reside at Anna Nagar I, II, and III, Thillai Nagar, Amaravathi Nagar, Mottur, Chinna Mottur, Sail Refractory Colony, and Othukinaru, situated on both sides of the highway. The proposed flyover did not have a PUP or minor link bridge to connect these places from both sides. In the absence of a PUP, 260 metres from the proposed VUP in the flyover, people from 10 areas had to travel an additional 1.5 km to make a U-turn. Last week, local people staged a protest demanding the PUP, Mr. Raja added.

Mr. Arul said there was a 1,000-year-old Ramar temple and a private college. So, a PUP was necessary to connect these areas. “In two weeks, we are going to meet Mr. Gadkari in this regard. We believe the Minister will sort out the issue. If there will be no fruitful results, various protests will be conducted on behalf of the PMK for this demand,” he added.

The NHAI officials said they had sent a proposal for a PUP based on the public demand to the Regional NHAI office in Chennai. It was a long process to give consent for PUP after the construction started. It would delay the execution of the project for another six months or a year and it needed an additional ₹2.50 crore fund, the officials added.