The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Roads bear brunt of rain fury

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Nov 12, 2009
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Roads bear brunt of rain fury

Deepa H. Ramakrishnan

Potholes make it a bumpy ride for motorists; black topping off in several places

— Photo: M.Vedhan

OUT OF SHAPE: Driving has become a challenge on many roads after the recent rain. A scene on Taylors Road.

CHENNAI: The first spell of rain this north-east monsoon was enough to batter roads across the city. The resultant potholes, including on important roads, are making motoring difficult for users, particularly two-wheeler riders. Apart from posing a danger to them, the potholes have slowed down traffic considerably.

R. Murali, who commutes between Perambur and Anna Nagar, said there was a risk of two-wheeler riders losing balance, as the road surface was uneven. In some places like Koyambedu junction, where the road is still under a sheet of water, the potholes are not visible to road users.

In several places, the black topping has been severely damaged, exposing several layers of foundation material. The resultant potholes in many roads are more than a foot deep and wide enough to accommodate half of the length of a two-wheeler.

The damaged roads include Arunachalam Road at Chintadripet, Wallajah Road, L.B. Road at Adyar, Sardar Patel Road, Pulianthope High Road, Purasawalkam High Road, Arcot Road, Nelson Manickam Road, Anna Main Road at K.K. Nagar, Taramani Link Road and Kaliamman Koil Street at Koyambedu.

S.M. Shankar, industrialist and resident of Park Town, questioned the way roads were being maintained. “If one rain leads to this condition of roads, vehicles using them would need frequent servicing and repairs. The temporary filling of the potholes with bricks is also not being done properly.”

The bricks are too big, not crushed properly and without any kind of binding. When a few heavy vehicles pass over them, they come out of the pot holes, posing problems for smaller vehicles.

R. Kripa, a resident of Nungambakkam, said silt that had been removed from stormwater drains in Mehta Nagar just before the rain remained on the road and made matters worse when it rained. “Road cuts that had been dug up for various works have not been filled properly.”

Till Tuesday, the civic body had taken up filling of pot holes with broken bricks on 762 roads and covered 10,842 sq. m. In two days time, hot mix from the civic body’s plant would be used to cover the pot holes, officials said.

Corporation Commissioner Rajesh Lakhoni said that zonal officers had been told to concentrate on road cuts, cross cuts (cuts leading to houses) and potholes. This year, nearly 220 km of bus route roads had been cut by Chennai Metrowater and the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board.

Chennai Corporation officials said that after the rain, in December, the civic body would take up the work of scrapping and relaying very badly damaged roads. Tenders had been settled for the Rs.1.7-crore work.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Tamil Nadu