Villagers block traffic as plaints about bad road get disregarded for 2 years

The drainage on Rajakilpakkam-Madambakkam road was damaged two years ago, which led to the sewage flowing on the road. According to the residents, due to the poor condition of the road and the stench, motorists increase the speed to cross the stretch at the earliest, which often results in accidents.

They had lodged complaints to Sembakkam municipal officials, but no steps were taken even after two years. Vinoth Kumar, a local resident, said the municipal officials told the complainants that the road was maintained by the State Highways department who should fix the drainage. But when the people approached officials from the Highways department, they claimed that the road was under the maintenance of the municipality.

Angry that their repeated pleas feel on deaf years, the villagers gathered on the Madambakkam-Rajakilpakkam road in large numbers on Monday and staged a protest by blocking the vehicles. As this resulted in a pile-up and chaos in the whole area, a team from Selaiyur police station rushed to the spot and held discussions with the protesters.

Later, officials from the Highways Department and municipal officials, too, came to the spot. They promised the villagers that the damage would be fixed before the end of the month. Following this, the residents withdrew their protest and dispersed.