CHENNAI: Kodungaiyur Ezhil Nagar A and B Blocks and Annai Sathya Nagar comprise 37 streets. Several street name boards in these areas have been damaged, covered with posters and stickers, or completely removed, making it difficult for residents, visitors and motorists to identify the streets.
In Thoppai Vinayagar Street, Ezhil Nagar A Block, with 18 streets, name boards are missing on the 3rd, 4th and 5th Streets. The 14th Street name board has been covered with posters, making the street name unreadable. Some name boards are also completely missing on the 16th, 17th and 18th Streets.
In Kamarajar Salai, Ezhil Nagar B Block (12 streets), the name boards on the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th Streets have been covered with posters. The name board of 8th Street has been damaged, while the 11th and 12th Street boards are completely concealed by posters.
In Anna Salai, Annai Sathya Nagar, the name boards on the 3rd and 5th Streets in Ezhil Nagar B Block have been covered with stickers. The name board of 4th Street has been damaged, while the 10th Street board is completely hidden behind garbage bags.
In Periyar Salai, Annai Sathya Nagar, which has seven streets, the name boards on the 2nd and 7th Streets have been covered with posters, obscuring the lettering and making them difficult to read. The street name board on MGR Nagar 9th Street has been completely removed, making it difficult for the public to identify the street.
A resident of Ezhil Nagar B Block, Arumugam, said, “Since there are many streets in this locality, newcomers find it difficult to identify the correct street. Several street name boards are damaged, while others have been covered with posters, making the names unreadable. This situation has continued for the past one year.”
Another resident, Kalidoss of Ezhil Nagar A Block, said, “Some street name boards were removed during the stormwater drain works carried out in the area. Although a few were reinstalled later, several are damaged, as they were not fixed properly.”
Officials of the Greater Chennai Corporation told DT Next, “There are no funds available for replacing the damaged street name boards. Repair and replacement works can be taken up only after funds are sanctioned. Once the required allocation is received, all damaged and missing street name boards in the area will be replaced with new ones.”