GCC to relay 3,000 roads before NE monsoon

CHENNAI: To meet the monsoon woes and to improve the city infrastructure ahead of seasonal rains, the Greater Chennai Corporation had started implenting its annual monsoon plan.

As per the plan, the drain works should be completed by this month subsequently followed by road repairs. "Over 3,000 roads that are in bad state will be repaired and relaid before the onset of Northeast monsoon. Damaged roads in Manali, Kolathur, KK Nagar, Madipakkam, and Ramapuram have been identified and the service departments are curently carrying out underground projects and these roads will be repaired by next month," a top civic official in Ripon Buildings told DT Next.

Besides the road repair and drain improvement works, the corporation had also kick started the awareness drive through city public health department as monsoon also comes with water borne infections and vector borne diseases.

By next month the corporation will also keep community centres and primary health centres ready to help the public in case of floods, the official said.

"As many as 9,000 interior and bus route roads are to be re-laid across the city at an estimated cost of Rs 1,100 crore. And so far 2,500 roads have been completed and works in 500 roads are in progress," another corporation official said. Besides, the pot holes and battered roads will attended as per the damages. Road cuts done by service departments including metro rail, metro water board, and Tangedco is an headache for the civic body, but we are forced to give road cut permission to ensure that the public life is not affected.

The local body aims to complete 50 percent of the road re-laying works by next month. Many residential areas experience power cut, contaminated water, and sewage pipeline damage in such situations we give road cut permission to carry underground maintenance works. All these stretches will be identified and will be taken up for repair works before the monsoon.

While the interior roads will be laid in the daytime and bus route roads especially traffic-congested areas will be repaired during night time.