Maduravoyal residents seek quick repair of battered Gandhi Street

CHENNAI: Residents of Gandhi Street in MMDA Maduravoyal have urged the civic body to re-lay the road that has been in bad shape for more than six months.

Due to the ongoing Metro rail works, vehicles, including minibuses, use the interior roads, which results in traffic congestion during peak hours. And motorists are facing problems due to the scrappy roads.

“There are potholes along the entire street, and even for mild showers, we witness water-logging, which would take at least three-four days to drain out. It becomes difficult to even walk because people fall, especially senior citizens, as the road gets muddy,” said T Srinivasan, a bike taxi driver, who uses the road regularly.

“Even motorists and cyclists should be more cautious while riding because many have lost balance and fallen. Hence the majority of them have started avoiding this route and opted to travel over a kilometre extra to reach the main road,” he added.

The ongoing Metro rail project in Vadapalani and Valasaravakkam makes the situation worse for the commuters. The interior roads are used by heavy vehicles, and people are forced to take interior roads to reach the Koyambedu.

“As the road is in bad shape, Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board’s tanker lorries, and minibuses have a hard time arriving on time. Also, only one vehicle can go at a time and it leads to traffic congestion,” said G Kavya Shree, a resident of Gandhi Street.

Commuters are angered and worried due to the pathetic road conditions. Local residents complain that the civic body authorities failed to lay roads even after the issue was taken to the concerned department.

In the meantime, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has intensified re-laying interior roads and arterial bus route roads during the night time.

When contacted, zonal corporation officials did not respond to the calls despite multiple attempts by DT Next.