t was devastating for the family and upon coming down from US, Anil visited the spot. “The top layer of the road was damaged and the locals informed me that accidents are a common feature on the stretch and that two-wheeler riders, if not careful, would often fall. When I went there again on July 24, the situation was just the same. It angered me and I wrote an elaborate post on social media, with pictures of the damaged road,” says the techie from the US.

Many people went on to share the post and it somehow came to the attention of Aravindhan P Deputy Commissioner of Police, T Nagar. “I saw this post on my newsfeed and someone I knew had posted it. I did not receive any complaint directly. I just ensured that the post reaches the right person through Prem Anand Sinha, Joint Commissioner, Traffic, who is moderating the Chennai traffic police page. Action was taken immediately,” says the officer. 

Two days later, residents saw that the damaged part of the road had been repaired and took to social media, recording their happiness at the prompt action taken by the authorities. However, some of them mentioned that it would have been better had the road been repaired before people lost lives. 

Chennai Traffic Police have an active Facebook Page, where complaints are tracked and the information relayed to the official under whose jurisdiction they fall.  “When it comes to T. Nagar and Villivakkam, we have strong social media network where the residents connect through WhatsApp,” says Aravindhan.