Delay in pipeline-laying work forces school vans to stay away

It is six months since Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) started its pipeline-laying work at Alagiri Nagar East Street in Vadapalani, which is 100 metres long and 20 feet wide. The pipe-laying work is still moving at a snail’s pace; it has been completed only up to 70 metres of the street.

Due to this delay, residents are facing a lot of inconvenience. The street is part of a shorter route to many schools located near Vadapalani junction.

Now school vans are not being operated through Alagiri Nagar East Street as it makes for a bumpy ride.

“As the stretch is uneven, there have been many cases of children getting injured,” says K. Satish Kumar, a resident of Vadapalani.

The street is packed with houses on both sides and densely populated. Due to this, a few speed breakers were laid to prevent accidents, but these are not in place anymore.

As the stretch still has only sodium vapour lamps, the risk quotient goes up at night. Due to this, residents themselves have created a few barricades at uneven spots to warning motorists.

Residents have complained many a time to CMWSSB and the Corporation, seeking quick completion of the work.

Alagiri Nagar East Street comes under Ward 130 of Zone – 9 (Kodambakkam) of the Greater Chennai Corporation.

According to Corporation officials, CMWSSB has paid the fee for re-laying the stretch but only when the entire work is completed could the Corporation start its work.