Stalemate over Railway Border Road brings hardship to Pallavaram residents

CHENNAI: A tussle between the Tambaram Corporation, Southern Railway and Cantonment over a road has left the residents high and dry for a long time.

The road in question is the Railway border road in Pallavaram that connects to the Pallavaram railway station and Tirusulam. The residents complain that the road is in a poor state and the officials need to take the initiative to complete the road works. The officials in each department shift blame, claiming that the road comes under the other department and procrastinates the work.

“The road has been in a bad condition for over ten years, and repeated complaints have been filed about the issue. The road works commenced before the elections in March, in the presence of the MLA. After the stones were laid, no work was done. When we complained about the same, they said the tender could not be allotted during election time. Even after the election, no steps were taken. The road houses burial places of people of three different religions,” said Syed Shamsudeen, a resident.

The commuters said the garbage dumped on the roadside and stray cattle moving through the road also trouble the motorists. The lack of proper street lights in the area also causes difficulty for commuters.

A Tambaram Corporation representative said that they completed the works worth Rs 6 lakh, but there have been complaints from the Cantonment that the road belongs to them. Hence, they halted work.