Pedestrians give this Pallavaram flyover a wide berth

After sunset, B. Kumar, a resident of Eashwari Nagar in Pallavaram, avoids the Eashwari Nagar flyover like the plague, preferring the road to it. For, the staircases of the facility are occupied by mendicants and tipplers. The space below the flyover is also taken over by this group. It is always strewn with cigarette stubs, broken liquor bottles and the stench of urine. Kumar is not alone; many other residents of Pallavaram give the facility a wide berth. Moreover, at evenfall, the stretch near the staircases become alarmingly dark, due to the absence of street lights. The fear that anti-social elements can strike under the cover of darkness keeps many pedestrians off the flyover, and also this section of the stretch. “Even during the day, some men can be seen sitting on the steps of the flyover and consuming alcohol,” says Kumar. The flyover is poorly maintained and often untidy.

The carriageway leading to the facility has caved in at several spots. Residents have requested the State Highways Department to clean the carriageway and the premises of the flyover and re-lay the damaged portions on the carriageway. Broken bottles, trash and jelly stones can be found on both sides of the carriageway; they seem to have accumulated over a long period of time.

To avoid the potholes in the carriageway, motorists swerve suddenly, raising the risk of collisions. The exit point near the carriageway should be re-laid at the earliest. Ridden with potholes, it is unfit for motoring.