Chennai Citizen Connect: Motorists urge State HD to repair road near Tiruvallur Municipality

CHENNAI: For the past two months, Tiruvallur residents have flagged a damaged drinking water pipeline and leaks at a particular location on the Chennai-Tirupati Highway, diagonally opposite the Tiruvallur Municipality office. The continuous leak has defaced the road surface, turning the spot into an accident-prone area.

According to locals and regular road users, hundreds of vehicles, from bikes to heavy vehicles, use the road daily to reach Tiruvallur Railway Station, offices, automobile and other industries located in the neighbourhoods of Tiruvallur. The damaged road invites accidents, and heavy vehicles splash water on the bike driver and pillion.

R Akash, a resident of Punnapakkam who passes the damaged road on his commute to Manavalanagar, alleged: “For more than a month, the issue has been left unaddressed by the Tiruvallur Municipality and the State Highways Department. The road damage is increasing day by day.”

He added that at night, road users unfamiliar with the road often fall from their bikes after hitting the damaged section

Echoing him was another resident of Tiruvallur and a security guard in a nearby shop, who preferred anonymity, said, “In the morning, heavy vehicles splash the water on the office goers, travelling in bikes and autos.”

As a precaution, the barricade has to be placed to prevent accidents, added the resident.

An official in the Tiruvallur Municipality explained that, “The municipality submitted a letter and obtained permission to arrest the leakage in the pipeline before the Model Code of Conduct (MCC).

The official said, “The highways department has suggested not to take up the work during the election campaign. The damaged pipeline will be repaired by Monday night.”

Confirming the statement, an official in the State Highway Department in Tiruvallur said, “Once the pipeline works are completed, the road will be re-laid.''