Coimbatore: The condition of the already dug up Sowripalayam-Masakalipalayam road has turned worse in the recent showers, forcing residents in the nearby localities to avoid the stretch and take alternate route to home and main road.
The road was dug up in July last for laying underground drains. A year has gone by, but neither the dug-up areas have been fully closed nor the road has been relaid. The recent showers have made the road so slushy, making it difficult for residents to travel on the stretch.
There was a time when residents of Chandrakanthi Nagar, Uppilipalayam, Masakalipalayam and Udayampalayam used to take Sowripalayam-Masakalipalayam road whenever they return home via Avinashi Road. “However, with the road being dug up for more than a year, we have all begun avoiding the stretch. Instead, we have been taking another route through Chandrakanthi Nagar to reach the main road for the past three months,” said Siddharth Ravindran, a resident.
Pointing out that the road was dug up for a 2km distance, residents said this has not only made the road slushy and messy during the rain, but narrow too. “The road is too narrow that only one car from either side can pass at a time. And at a few bends, that is also difficult,” G Arun, a resident of Masakalipalayam, said, adding, “If two big vehicles come from opposite sides, they get stuck and traffic jam forms in minutes.”
The road houses the back entrance to PSG Hospitals. As such ambulances, patients, doctors and other staff used take the road to enter the tertiary care hospital. “Now, most of us have begun using the front entrance on Link Road to enter the hospital. This is despite Fun Mall junction is congested and Link Road itself sees traffic snarls during peak hours,” said a hospital employee.
Singanallur MLA N Karthik inspected the road on Wednesday. “It is not an odd case. The civic body has dug up around 100 roads for underground drainage work. But they have not relaid any of them. The corporation keeps talking about big projects and smart cities, but it fails to provide basic facilities such as good and safe road to drive on. The civic body has done nothing,” he said.
