‘CONCRETE’ ROAD TO HELL FOR N CHENNAI RESIDENTS
For the last 10 days, residents of VOC Nagar (streets 1 and 2) were on a rollercoaster ride with the concrete road dug up for relaying
Policy decision by the GCC administrators to lay concrete roads in interior roads has now become a nightmare for the residents
CHENNAI: Call it the heights of poor planning and lack of civic sensitivity in the capital Chennai. The policy decision by the Greater Chennai Corporation administrators to lay concrete roads in interior roads has now become a nightmare for the residents. Besides inundating the locality and preventing the natural percolation of rainwater into the earth, these concrete roads are posing a threat to motorists, pedestrians and the elderly.
“This particular road is an example of what is happening in the interiors of north Chennai, with the public paying the price for poor planning and failure to understand the consequences of such heavy concrete roads,” fumed civic activist V Sathiabalan.
For the last 10 days, residents of VOC Nagar (streets 1 and 2) were on a rollercoaster ride with the concrete road dug up for relaying. Though complaints were raised before the ward councillor and zonal officials, at least two of the roads are now inaccessible for motorists.
“The concrete road was laid 10 years ago. We are having a tough time negotiating the concrete debris, with the aged forced to stay indoors. The road had a few potholes, but rather than repairing, the contractor has dug up the entire road for relaying,” said Ambeth Saravanan, a resident of VOC Nagar of Ward 72.
“Residents are forced to park their vehicles on the main road and nearby streets, triggering a war of words among them. The concrete road also poses technical difficulties unlike the tar roads when it comes to repairing EB cables and Metro Water pipelines,” said Saravanan.
“The contract workers claim they are not able to clear the debris for want of vehicles,” added Saravanan.
“Urban planners and civic activists want the civic body to go for tar roads which are cheaper, reliable, water permissible and eco-friendly, but the authorities prefer concrete roads for the reasons best known to them,” said Sathiabalan adding concrete roads is one of the reasons for flooding in Chennai.
When contacted, a senior official of Thiru Vi Ka Na Nagar zone (zone 6) said the road was dug up on Saturday. “The work got delayed due to some technical issues and the civic body has plans to bring back tar roads in the area. The work on both the dug-up roads will commence on Tuesday,” the official said.