Inagurated in March: One of Puzhuthivakkam MRTS entrances closed for months

CHENNAI: One of the four entrances to Puzhuthivakkam MRTS station has remained closed since its inauguration on March 14, forcing residents of nearby localities to take a detour of around 1 to 1.5 km to reach the station. The north-eastern entrance of Puzhuthivakkam station is supposed to serve several residential areas including AGS Colony, Saraswathy Nagar, and Padmavathy Nagar located in Velachery west, Puzhuthivakkam-Adambakkam zones.

With Veerangal Odai blocking access, residents from these localities have no other option but to take a long detour to reach the MRTS Inner Ring Road and thereby access other station entrances. “We’ve appealed to SR so many times. The block, despite being hardly 500 metres away from our neighbourhood, continues to remain shut,” said Geetha Ganesh, secretary, AGS Colony Residents’ Welfare Association.

The block has lifts, escalator, ticketing counter and ample parking space remain deserted with residents using that block just as a shortcut route to reach the MRTS road. “People who have to walk struggle more. Being in interior streets, there is no access to public transport. So there is no other way to either walk around 1.5 km or seek help,” pointed out Saravanan.

Many residents lamented the state of affairs as the opening of the railway station after a decade-long wait had not made any difference to them. For making the block functional, two RWAs’ have appealed to SR to modify a section of the existing railway compound wall and construct a pedestrian-and-cycle passage across Veerangal Odai. “This passage would provide direct connection to the road as well as the station,” they said.

The Velachery West–AGS Colony RWA and Saraswathy Nagar RWA said that the proposed passage would improve connectivity between residential areas on either side of the MRTS Inner Ring Road (IRR). They have sought a joint inspection by railway officials and representatives of both associations to examine the feasibility of the connection. Acknowledging the challenges, a senior official from Southern Railway told DT Next, “We’re looking into the possibilities to open the entrance.”