Several roads battered by heavy rain in the localities of Tambaram, Pallavaram and Chitlapakkam are finally being repaved. The newly-formed Tambaram Corporation has started work on re-laying 165 roads, which were damaged before the start of the Pongal festival.
Tambaram Corporation Commissioner M. Elangovan said the State government had sanctioned ₹10 crore for temporary restoration of roads damaged by heavy rain last year.
Over 165 badly damaged roads were identified for restoration and would be relaid within a few months. Repairs on these roads will be done only after milling is completed as per specifications, he added.
M.K. Nagar Main Road (formerly Swamy Malai Nagar) in Keelkattalai, Pillayar Koil Street and C.T.O. Colony Main Road in West Tambaram and Rajaji Cross Street and Bharathamatha Street in East Tambaram are few of the important roads which will be repaired.
The Tambaram Corporation, comprising five municipalities and five town panchayats, has also been sanctioned ₹60 crore for paving new roads under the Tamil Nadu Sustainable Urban Development Project (TNSUDP) and the Tamil Nadu Urban Road Infrastructure Fund (TURIP).
Mr. Elangovan said the amount sanctioned under both schemes last week would be used to pave roads for a total length of more than 140 km.
Dug-up streets
Residents in Tambaram, Chitlapakkam, Pammal and Anakaputhur have been complaining about the poor condition of the roads owing to digging done for drainage and laying cables.
Residents’ welfare activist P. Viswanathan said three important roads in Chitlapakkam, which were damaged for the construction of a cut and cover drain to route surplus rainwater to the Sembakkam lake, needed to be restored quickly.
He said the interior roads, such as Thirumurugan Salai, Ramanar Street and Maruthapandian Street in Chitlapakkam, had become slushy and hard to navigate. These roads were in urgent need of repair, he added.