CHENNAI: Residents along Medavakkam Tank Road in Kilpauk have been facing access issues for nearly a week after stormwater drain works were halted midway, leaving a deep trench open along the stretch.

The ongoing work, taken up as p art of the city’s stormwater drain network expansion, has been left incomplete, with large portions of the road dug up and barricaded. Residents say the lack of progress has made it difficult to move vehicles in and o ut of their homes, effectively disrupting daily routines.

“It’s been almost a week since the road was dug up and left like this. There has been no visible work happening, and we are unable to take our vehicles o ut at all,” said Asmita Chandramohan, a resident.

“The trench is deep and runs along the compound walls, with l oose debris and pipes lying a round. It's also a safety conc ern. There is no clarity on when the work will be complete d,” another resident said. They also noted that the incomp lete work has narrowed the usable portion of the road, aff ecting both pedestrian movem ent and vehicular traffic in the area.

A Greater Chennai Corporat ion (GCC) official said the slowdown was due to the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct.

“The works have been asked to slow down since the Model Code of Conduct came into f orce. We will try to expedite the work and restore normal acc ess as soon as possible,” the official added.