The Hindu : Will the city roads withstand monsoon?

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 09, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu-Chennai

Will the city roads withstand monsoon?

By Karthik Subramanian

CHENNAI OCT. 8. If the lack of rain was a thing of concern for the city's administrators last year, it is now a question whether the metropolis has the infrastructure to handle the much expected North East Monsoon.

The intermittent drizzle on Thursday, attributed to a trough of low pressure off the southwest coast by the Meteorological department, has raised queries on whether the city's roads can weather the seasonal rains. Road safety has become a major concern with the potholes and trenches threatening to open up further.

Several high density stretches including Arya Gowda road in West Mambalam, Fourth Avenue Road, 8th and 10th Main Roads in Anna Nagar, several parts of United India Colony, VGP (Hospital) Road and Anjaneyar Street in Saidapet, South West Boag Road in CIT Nagar, Pillaiyar Koil Street in Jafferkhanpet, Tiruvottiyur High Road in Tondiarpet area, S.N.Chetty Road in New Washermanpet, stand out as examples of official apathy.

If shoddy restoration works by the optical fibre cable companies pose a threat on the one hand, the most affected, on the other, seem to be the streets where Metrowater had executed its Chennai River Conservation Project.

In Anna Nagar, where the Metrowater laid huge pipes along the Cooum River in 8th and 10th Main Road under the project, roads have remained unrestored for nearly a year now. "The potholes were filled up with debris recently. But it only seems to be counter-productive making it even more difficult for motorists," a shopkeeper in the area said.

For more than six months now, the Chennai Corporation has been caught up in administrative squabbles bringing to a complete standstill the road laying works.

"Several practical difficulties have been experienced in the recent times due to major works undertaken by the OFCs and Metrowater. Besides, there were several problems within the Corporation council that took the attention away from the civic issues.

But now, everything is amicably settled, and soon the roads would be restored," the Deputy Mayor, `Karate' R. Thiagarajan, said.

Another reason pointed out by the officials is the transfer of nearly 80 km of the bus route roads from the Corporation to the Highways department.

The State Government went ahead with the move amidst protests from both the Corporation officials and the councillors. It is now feared that the move could actually be counter-productive.

The Highways department, which only recently formed a special cell to look into the newly-acquired roads, does not have the manpower to maintain the stretch of roads.

Last week, the Corporation gave a loan of Rs. 5 crores to the Highways department to look into some of the immediate repairs. Meanwhile, the Corporation have also come forward to take up `minor' repairs on the corridors that were handed over to the Highways department. Stretches that were taken up for repairs recently include Dr. Radhakrishnan Salai, Haddows Road, parts of Cathedral Road, R.K.Mutt Road, Velachery Road and New Avadi Road. Many of these continue to have potholes, though. The civic agency also hopes to press to action its paver machines to lay hot mix prepared at the Central Asphalt Plant in Chetpet to `patch up' 127 stretches before the onset of monsoon.

Incidentally, the North East Monsoon set in on October 16 last year. Which could mean that there is just a week left.

However, full-fledged roads might take far longer to materialise, with the Corporation still undecided on whether to go ahead with the tenders it settled during August.

Tenders for road works to the tune of Rs. 40 crores, funded by a loan from the Tamil Nadu Urban Finance and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited, are in limbo owing to an enquiry on procedural anomalies alleged by the councillors.

The Corporation and the Highways department are awaiting government orders to release funds to the tune of Rs. 40 crores and Rs. 29.2 crores (for a strech of 79.8 km of bus route roads recently transferred) respectively.

The AIADMK Government, after its initial interest in the Corporation for political reasons, has devoted little attention to taxpayers' civic grievances in recent times, a resident in an affected area said.

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