Ongoing work on Ennore High Road violates HC order

Speaking with DT Next, V Hemraj, a resident and activist, pointed out that the road had been in a deplorable condition for many years, till it was relayed with a pucca stretch some years ago. “But, the stretch from outside the Greater Chennai Corporation Crematorium in zone 1 is being relayed again without the mandatory cold milling procedure,” he said. “The area has been experiencing flooding every time it rains. Earlier, when the road was filled with holes, the rain water used to make small puddles and now the increase in road height can make the surrounding areas water logged,” Hemraj added.

In March last year, the Madras High Court had ordered that the road’s height shouldn’t increase when it is relayed. The increase in height is a major cause for flooding in the city and the judgment was following a petition filed by residents in the Chitlapakkam Town Panchayat which has been facing severe flooding every year even during short spells of rains. The process of cold milling that has been mandated, where the surface of the road is scraped off before it is relayed can keep the height intact.

But, residents in the zone also allege that there have been several instances when roads and even small stretches have been relayed without carrying out the milling procedure. A resident Divakar said, “Even a recent road work near Ajax has been carried out without milling the road surface. This is not the first time the roads here have been relayed without the procedure. But there has been a judgment mandating it and even government authorities don’t seem to be interested in implementing it.” The residents added that the issue has been conveyed to the authorities concerned.

A senior official from Highways Department said that the department had not being carried out any work on the stretch and it was unlikely that the department would relay a road without milling.