Citizen Connect: Market Road a litmus test for vehicles’ shock absorbers and motorists’ backs

Motorists using Market Road near Villivakkam railway station would perhaps be cursing the civic authorities every time they pass by.

Dotted with gaping potholes, the road offers a bumpy ride that would be a litmus test for any vehicle’s shock absorbers, not to speak of the motorists’ backs that invariably bear the brunt.

The road runs parallel to Villivakkam railway station and has hundreds of people visiting it due to the presence of the wholesale the market here, one of the oldest in north Chennai.

“This is a link road that connects Kamaraj Street in Rajaji Nagar and Kolathur Main Road near the railway gate, which is closed for the ongoing road over the bridge and both traders and shoppers use the stretch,” said T Ravindran, a resident of Villivakkam, who visits the market once in every two days.

He said that he doesn’t remember when the road was last re-laid. “When all other approach roads were re-laid several times, the Market Road alone remains pothole-ridden for the past several years,” he said.

“The road is used by those coming to the market. We don’t know what stops the Greater Chennai Corporation or the Railway officials from relaying one-km stretch,” John Joseph, a resident of GKM Colony, said.

K Saravanan, one of the traders in the market, said that many businessmen come from Tirutani, Tiruvallur and Arakkonam and most of them bring their produce in mini-vans. “The road is full of craters,” he said, adding that they have made many representations to the local authorities to re-lay the road, but no action was taken.

The Welfare Association Rajaji Nagar has also made many representations to improve the area outside the station. A few years ago, residents had pooled in money to repair the road near the station as people could not even walk there.

A corporation official said that the road belongs to the Railways and they need to relay it.