Damaged Storm Water Drain makes GST road risky for motorists in Urapakkam

According to residents of Urapakkam, the stormwater drainage (SWD) nearby lies damaged. Claiming that the situation has remained the same for nearly six months, they said motorists must be very careful.

They claimed that water stagnates on the road after even a brief spell of rainfall, because of which, the traffic is either blocked completely or moves slowly. On such occasions, it takes up to one hour to cross the Urapakkam signal.

Several residents stated that they had requested the panchayat officials on several occasions to act, but a permanent solution for the problem continues to evade them.

Sovin, a resident of Urapakkam, said that the road is filled with slush which “Our clothes get dirty as the s is being splashed due to the movement of heavy vehicles on the road,” he said.

When contacted, Urapakkam village panchayat secretary K Karunakaran told DTNext, “The road is being maintained by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). We have tried to repair it in the past following repeated complaints from the public but the NHAI officials did not allow us to proceed.”

A senior NHAI official, on condition of anonymity, said, “The stormwater drainage (SWD) on the GST road was damaged completely because of lorries, which makes frequent trips to and from a stone query nearby.” Stating that they are working to repair the SWD, the official said, “We have asked the panchayat officials to control the movement of lorries.”