Chennai Corporation to fix road connecting Velachery - Perungudi MRTS stations
The road is one of the important ways for many commuters from Velachery to OMR, as they can cut down on traffic time. It’s also a short-cut to reach Perungudi without the hassle of traffic diversion caused by CMRL construction.
The slushy muddy road forces commuters to use one lane of the road (Photo: Vishal Nagaraj)
CHENNAI: The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) is all set to carry out maintenance work along the road connecting Velachery and Perungudi MRTS stations, which have been in bad shape for the past few months.
The works, which will begin in January, also aims to transform the place into a hangout spot for the public by summer next year.
The road is one of the important ways for many commuters from Velachery to OMR, as they can cut down on traffic time. It’s also a shortcut to reach Perungudi without the hassle of traffic diversion caused by CMRL construction.
But a huge part of the road is riddled with potholes, and on rainy days, it becomes slushy and gets flooded. This forces commuters to use only one lane of the road for two-way traffic between Velachery and Perungudi.
“In 2018, a building was illegally constructed near six culverts. After multiple complaints, it was demolished, but the construction waste was dumped near the culvert. It has blocked the rainwater flow from the residential areas through the culvert. Similarly, the existing storm water drain does not function properly,” said M Balakrishnan, secretary of Tansi Nagar Residents’ Welfare Association, Velachery.
Other RWAs in the area had filed petitions and complaints to the former Corporation Commissioner and Chief Secretary in February 2024 to remove the debris and re-lay the road before the monsoon season. However, no steps were taken to address the issue, which resulted in inundation during the first spell of northeast monsoon.
GCC Commissioner J Kumaragurubaran said, “The road ownership remains with the Railways but we’ve taken over the maintenance road, and will carry out beautification works. However, the MoU is pending as of now. At present, topography surgery is ongoing and within the next 15 days, we’ll know more, and plan for the project. The damaged storm water drains will also be reconstructed by the Corporation.”
The civic body will provide a better road surface, walking path, benches, additional street lights and ponds. The works, which will begin after the northeast monsoon ends in January, are expected to be completed by March-May. It will be open to the public during the summer.