Traders make U-turn on Sathuvachary subway plea

It was because traders who initially demanded the subway to reduce the increasing number of accidents backtracked on the issue, sources revealed. The subway had become a bone of contention for quite a few years with traders demanding a subway leading to Phase II of residential colony on the other side of the road. Some had even been jailed for their agitation earlier. 

The issue is that buses bound for Chennai, Kanchipuram, Arcot, Ranipet, Wallajahpet, Sholingur and Arakkonam use the service road from the Green circle near the new Vellore bus stand to enter the national highway. As the locality has a number of shops, there is every probability of pedestrians and two wheelers being knocked down, sources revealed.

It was this which resulted in a flurry of petitions to various Vellore Collectors making the state government’s national highways department appointing a DRO to survey and obtain land for handing it over to NHAI for subway work. 

The DRO, who claimed anonymity, said the survey of the shops likely to be affected was nearly over. Similarly, work on acquiring land for the NH stretch passing through Ambur town where the Wallajahpet-Bangalore six lane NH narrows to 4 lanes, is complete. 

What made the traders to change their mind, was the fact that shops abutting the service road on the collectorate side would be affected by the expansion. In this connection, they plan to submit a proposal to the collector asking him to drop the proposed move, it was revealed.