Motorists pounded by sky, rough roads in city

Rains lashed the city on Wednesday, causing several traffic bottlenecks across the city, with vehicle users complaining that  potholes and bad road  conditions increased the travel time. 

People across the city complained about the bad conditions of the road, with potholes delaying the travel time, especially in areas leading to OMR and Maduravoyal, while in certain localities, waterlogging on the busy thoroughfares worsened the situation. 

Residents, too, are unhappy due to incomplete road works, creating a risk factor for the public. Sujith Kumar, a resident of Thiruvanmiyur, was seething at the callousness of the officials. “It is common sense – do not dig up the roads if you cannot close it on time. Warnings were given about rains starting from end October. 

There are many such open pits, especially outside school areas. For example, just outside Avvai School in Adyar, there is incomplete road work which has turned into a pit with rainwater. If this happens in a posh area like Adyar, what will be the condition in the  suburbs,” he questioned, adding that the simple rain over the last few days has exposed the chink in the city’s armour. There was waterlogging in Pallikarnai stretch, due to an excess inflow to the Narayanapuram Lake. Officials said that the situation is being monitored. 

The civic body officials were busy working to remove waterlogging, while also removing obstructions from main canals to ensure smooth flow of water. 

The obstruction in Otteri Nullah near the Road Bridge was removed from Anna Nagar, Third Avenue, while similar works took place near Velachery Railway Station. The Corporation had opened up shelters across the city and teams were formed to shift homeless people to these safe locations. 

In the suburbs, Tambaram was badly hit, with the Tambaram-Mudichur Road closed due to waterlogging and a stench emanating from it. Residents said that this was due to lack of action by the Tambaram Municipality. 

Kancheepuram District Collector P Ponniah and officer-incharge Amudha P visited Mudichur and Varadarajapuram, where water was being pumped out. These areas were badly affected in the 2015 flood, but this time, though there was waterlogging, the situation was under control. The waterlogging was  due to lack of desilting the culverts on the Outer Ring Road. Due to rise in water levels, 300 people from Annai Anjippan Nagar on the Tambaram-Kishkinta Road had to leave their homes. Today, the officials said that a shelter was available at the Old Perungalathur Girls Higher Secondary School. 

The dilapidated building of the Panchayat Union Government School collapsed at 1.30 am, due to the rains. The building was constructed in 1960. Luckily, since it collapsed in the night, there were no casualties. A railway wall between Guindy and St Thomas Mount stretch collapsed on Wednesday. Since this was a new wall, an enquiry is under way to ascertain the cause of the collapse. Municipality officials of suburban areas were instructed to form a 15-member team, including plumbers, electricians, drivers and other officials, to  handle emergency complaints during the night.