CHENNAI: Encroachment at the Medavakkam Main Road had been troubling the public and commuters for more than six months. The encroachment extends to the main road, creating a bottleneck during peak hours. 

Hence, commuters have urged the respective department to intervene and initiate action against the offender. 

Tamilselvi, a resident of Medavakkam, said, “We’ve been noticing the encroachment taking a huge space on the road for several months. There is debris, many big rocks and other construction materials taking up road space. The respective department should act promptly to remove the materials.”

When contacted, the State Highway Department stated that that the particular stretch was with the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) for Metro Rail construction. Hence, CMRL was responsible for the area. 

However, a higher official clarified to DT Next that the road had been handed back to the State Highway Department at the onset of northeast monsoon. “After the construction was completed, the road was handed back to the Highways department. Additionally, from Adambakkam to Medavakkam for 9 km, CMRL has also carried out road restoration work.”

For corridor 5 of the phase II Metro Rail construction from Madhavaram Milk Colony to Sholinganallur, CMRL finished its preliminary construction and subsequently removed the blue barricade. “As the stretch is currently with State Highway, it is only fair the encroachment is cleared at the earliest. Additionally, it is vital that such illegal encroachment is monitored in other places and subsequently removed,” said Jaffer, another resident.