Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Sand, stones, bricks make inroads into roads

— Photo: M. Karunakaran

INVADED: A stretch of Ganapathy Street in Triplicane looks more like a construction site rather than a road.

Chennai: Roads and footpaths across the city are increasingly serving as storage spaces for heaps of sand and blue metal stones and stacks of bricks.

Though the Chennai Corporation has started imposing fines on people who dump construction debris on roads, little is being done to prevent construction materials eating into public space.

Many retail traders of construction materials have only a small shop and extend their storage area onto the footpaths and roads.

Sand and stones are also stored on pavements and narrow roads whenever there is some new construction activity.

P.V. Suresh Babu, a resident of South Mada Street, said the misuse of footpaths to store building materials was a disgrace.

Citing the example of sand being stocked along Natesan Road, Mr. Babu said there was no space for pedestrians to walk in safety.

The Corporation levies a fine of Rs. 500 for dumping of construction debris on roads or footpaths. Residents say that the use of public space to store sand and bricks is equally bad.

T.S. Killivalavan, a resident of New Tank Street in Nungambakkam, said the road behind Independence Day Park was used as storage space for loads of sand. “The Corporation must take action against people who use roads to store sand or stones for construction. It is a form of encroachment too,” he said.

Such encroachment of road space not only hampers pedestrian movement but also puts motorists at risk. On narrow roads, the sand gets spread on the road and lead to accidents when two-wheelers skid.

This is a common occurrence on Chellapillayar Koil Street in Royapettah. Regular users of Mayor Chittibabu Street, Venkatarangam Street and Ganapathy Street near Ice House have similar tales of woe.

The Thiruvalluvar Nagar Second Avenue Road in Thiruvanmiyur is also frequently used to store construction materials.

In some cases, the Corporation itself is to blame.

The AGS Colony Fourth Main Road in Velachery has had piles of construction material for almost three months for the stormwater drain construction project in the area.

Residents of the locality, which, of late, is witnessing heavy traffic during rush hour, are also concerned about the rather slow pace at which the project is progressing.

Use of the road space by private builders for storing construction material is also not uncommon in the area.

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