Citizen Connect: Shoddy roads, potholes put Othikkadu villagers at risk of fatality

CHENNAI: The poor condition of the Periyapalyam and Redhills highway road irks the commuters and the condition of the road located at the entrance of Othikkadu village in Tiruvallur district leading to the highway road has put the residents of this village at risk of serious accidents to fatalities.

Explaining the inaction of the officials of the concerned department and government, the residents of Othikkadu allege that neither the officials nor the policymakers paid any heed to the complaints filed by the public.

Speaking to DT NEXT, a resident of Othikkadu said, “Almost a month ago, an elderly man sustained a severe fall due to a pothole on the road while traveling with his grandson. Despite treatments, the man died.”

“Only after the death of an old man, the government took action. The government officials did a new patchwork at a few locations on the road only after that particular incident. However, the road remains largely a danger to the people,” added the resident.

The residents also noted that despite the area being lit with street lights, the continuous heavy vehicle movement seems to be a threat to the local people.

“The Othikkadu road acts as an intersection to the highway road. The entire stretch had potholes allegedly due to metro pipeline leakage in the past and the government apathy is forcing people to endure bad road conditions,” added another resident.

“We request the department to take steps to lay new roads and fix the pipe leakage to prevent further fatalities. As the road is at the entrance of Othikkadu village, the people are forced to use the damaged road to reach the highway. Hence we request the department to act promptly,” requested the resident. Meanwhile, efforts to obtain a reaction from local body officials proved futile.