Roads in Pattabiram near Chennai lie in a state of neglect

CHENNAI: Construction of a road overbridge (RoB) at Pattabiram railway gate, that has remained grounded for the past two years due to land acquisition issues, and the stormwater drain work being carried out on Chennai-Thiruvallur High Road have made the entire arterial road, used by at least 1.2 lakh vehicles every day, unmotorable.

The RoB project, which commenced five years ago, came to halt in mid-2019 as the contractor was unable to find workers during the pandemic. The project work that was happening in fits and starts finally gained pace in 2020, but has again come to a halt now. 

"The Avadi Corporation started constructing 4-ft wide and 2-ft high closed storm water drains in 10 streets in July 2020 at a cost of Rs 87.93 lakh to replaced old SWDs. The exercise is a waste of tax payers’ money as the old SWDs have been functioning well," said A Roy Rozario, a resident.

The new SWD work is causing much hardship to the residents of Nehru Street, Gandhinagar, Pandian Street and Cholan Nagar in Pattabiram. Residents also allege that the Avadi Traffic Police have placed medians, restricting movement of cars. Only autos and two-wheelers are allowed on the road now, they said. 

"The alternative road from Hindu College to Muthapudupet is riddled with potholes.  Since the road belongs to the Union Defence Ministry, defence officials must carry out the repair work. Corporation officials, defence officials are also not ready to hand over the land to the corporation," said C Muthu, another resident. 

When contacted, an official from the highways department said that Rs 68 lakh was sanctioned for laying four approach roads under the Integrated Urban Development Mission Scheme.