Residents of Secretariat Colony in Kilpauk complained that more than half of the Beracah Road has been dug up, resulting in a traffic crunch during peak hours on this road and posing a threat for motorists.

With almost the entire stretch of Beracah (also known as Barakka) Road having been dug up, the lack of protective railings has become a threat for the residents living there.

Sheela Kartik, a retired employee and resident of Barakka Road, said that she almost fell into the dug-up trenches. “There is no proper road or a protective barricade indicating that work is underway. Because of this, I narrowly missed falling into the trenches,” she said, adding that during the rainy season, the road becomes unusable. “During the recent rains, thanks to all the digging up, the road turns into a sludgy mess.

Even during a minor drizzle, I have witnessed motorists skidding on this stretch,” she added, pointing out that the work has been going on for a few months now.

Beracah Road connects all the interior roads in Secretariat Colony to the Medavakkam Tank Road,

which is used to access either Pursaiwalkam or Villivakkam and Perambur on the other side. Because of this, there is a high traffic flow on this road, which has been severely affected because half of the road has been dug up. M Ahmed, a senior citizen living in the locality, said that he often uses Beracah Road, but has to navigate the tedious stretch. “The pedestrians have no place to walk and in peak hours, the traffic moves slowly. Because of this, I have started taking a long detour to reach home,” said the entrepreneur.

On Sundays, the Pentecostal Church on Beracah Road has hundreds of devotees attending the mass, who have absolutely no footpath or pedestrian space to use. “The high footfalls on Sundays mean that they have to walk on the road and this adds to the traffic congestion, especially in the evenings,” added Sheela.

Since more than half the road has been dug up, people who want to access shops or ATM on Beracah Road, including a supermarket, have no parking space. If they do park on the road, it ends up affecting the traffic flow. Residents hope that the Corporation will complete the work before monsoon, failing which they will have to endure hardship in accessing the main road.

When contacted, a senior Corporation official said that the road has been dug up for installation of storm water drains. “We generally put safety barricading to ensure residents are not affected. We will ensure that this measure is taken immediately, and work expedited,” added the official.