Panchayat relays 20 feet of 50-ft-wide road, irks residents

CHENNAI: Iyyapanthangal residents are irked by the fact that the panchayat only laid 20 feet of the 50 feet road.

Senthil Kumar, a local activist, said that AN Elumalai Road (Oil Mill Road) in Iyyapanthangal is a major interior road in the locality as it connects Porur and Chennai Bypass Road. “Motorists can reach from Porur to Chennai Bypass Road without crossing Kumananchavadi or Poonamallee. Several motorists use the short route,” he added.

He added that panchayat re-laying the road and works have already been started. “The road is 50-feet wide, but works are ongoing for only 20 feet. The panchayat should re-lay full width of the road. Recently, the panchayat re-laid roads on several streets as cement concrete roads. Despite, the streets are in residential areas and vehicular movement is minimum, streets have been laid for 30 feet. But Oil Mill Road is a busy stretch,” he said.

When contacted, an Iyyapanthangal panchayat official said that road is being re-laid as per CMDA norms and using CMDA funds. “We cannot contravene the CMDA norms,” he explained.

Meanwhile, residents said that the road is marked as ‘vandipaathai’ (pathway used for agricultural purposes) in the records, but the road has become an important arterial road in the area.

Senthil Kumar also highlighted that new laid cement concrete streets are posing danger as the panchayat is yet to fill sides of the streets to make them same level with ground. He alleged that the contractor failed to complete the work completely.