A nightmare for motorists, pedestrians

By Akila Dinakar

CHENNAI, AUG. 20. The roads at Nanganallur under the Alandur Municipality are patchy and in a bad shape.

Despite the difficulty caused to the residents of the Thillai Ganga Nagar area who are mostly dependent on bicycles and two- wheelers to commute to the Pazhavanthangal railway station, the roads, with their surface damaged at many places, make travelling difficult for the tourists and the devotees going to the Anjaneya, Hayagreeva, Guruvayoorappan, Raghavendra, Rajarajeswari and Pillaiyar temples. On Sundays and festival days, the problem is compounded with traffic jams.

Moreover, vehicles going to Adambakkam, St. Thomas Mount, Vanuvampet, Madipakkam, Puzhuthivakkam, Pallikaranai, Medavakkam and Kilkattalai pass through the mainroads of Thillai Ganga Nagar. The situation is worse for the night riders who have to come across boulder-sized storm water drain (SWD) covers.

The road in the Nanganallur market area is in a bad shape with no blacktopping. Residents say they find it difficult to walk along the road for shopping as several of them slip and fall in the slush.

While commuters are put to great difficulty with the removal of 52 M and 52 L bus halts at the Chidambaram Stores stopping due to SWD construction, the digging up of the III and IV main roads has worsened the situation for motorists.

Cars and two-wheelers have to avoid high sewage covers, some of which are jutting out of the main road, spelling danger for drivers at night. A car driver said the crank case of his vehicle often got hit, leading to damage and spillage of oil. With an improper execution of blacktopping work on the roads where the SWD works were completed, school students going on bicycles often lose their balance.

As cars are able to travel only at a speed of 10 km per hour, the bad roads cause excess fuel consumption, mileage drop and wear and tear of vehicles due to frequent change of gears. The crank case and silencer mufflers were severely damaged when the vehicles go over the high SWD covers and the pit-ridden roads with sharp gravel puncturing the tyres.

While cement and blacktopped roads have been laid in a few small lanes of Nanganallur, a majority of the main roads and lanes are in an extremely bad condition putting residents and motorists to much hardship.

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Section  : Southern States
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