Elderly man’s death after fall highlights Ullagaram’s civic woes
Jayaraj fell off the bike near the Porchezhian Street-Elango Street junction where there are open drains. But city police said the family has not filed any complaint.
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CHENNAI: An 84-year-old man fell off his two-wheeler near his residence in Ullagaram near Nanganallur on Monday. While there were allegations that he died after falling into an open drain on the road
where the accident happened, his family members told DT Next that it was not the case and that they have not field any police complaint.
The deceased, Jayaraj of KRK Sivan Street in Ullagaram, had retired as an accounts manager from a private school in Madipakkam. Around 7 am on Monday morning, he went out on his scooter to buy milk.
A little while later, the family was informed that he fell off the bike a few metres away from his residence.
According to the public, Jayaraj fell off the bike near the Porchezhian Street-Elango Street junction where there are open drains. But city police said the family has not filed any complaint. “
We have not got any CCTV footage showing how it happened. So, we are not sure if he fell into the drain,” a family member said, adding that Jayaraj had underwent a surgery just two weeks ago.
After the accident, the Greater Chennai Corporation had made temporary arrangements to cover them. However, as DT Next found during a visit to the accident spot, the roads in the area are all bad, and the situation has been further worsened by storm water drain works.
Another family member said that apart from bad roads, the area is infested with cows roaming on the streets. “Even at the place where he fell, there are cattle tied up and roaming freely,” the relative said, blaming the officials of not taking any action despite lodging several complaints.