Residents irked as GCC fills potholes with debris

CHENNAI: Motorists using Kamarajar Salai in Ramapuram in Valasaravakkam zone are an irked lot, thanks to the Greater Chennai Corporation’s refusal to repair the road filled with potholes. Instead of repairing the road, the civic body has resorted to filling the potholes with construction waste.

“About 50 metres of the road near Balaji hospital has been in completely damaged condition for the past two years. Instead of repairing the road by filling the potholes with bituminous tar mix, the civic workers fill them with debris. Within a few days, the debris tends to start coming off and scatter on the road. This poses danger to the riders. Two days ago, I saw workers filling the potholes with debris,” N Viswanathan, an activist said.

He added that the civic body engineers continue the ill-conceived solution despite repeated requests not to use debris. The spot is an important bus stop in the locality as it is located in the junction of Kamarajar Salai and Senthamizh Nagar Road.

“Recently, I raised the issue with the CM complaint cell. Following the complaint, the Chennai Corporation repaired one of the several potholes. When asked, a worker disclosed that they only repair the potholes that were shown in the photograph sent to the CM complaint cell,” he added.

Viswanathan also pointed out that complaints sent through Namma Chennai App are not properly attended to. “The spot is in ward 155. When I send the complaint using Namma Chennai App, the complaint goes to ward 154 and the engineers attached to that ward close the complaint citing jurisdictional boundary,” he said.