The streets and lanes in Tirumangalam are in poor condition for years as they are sandy. Thiruvallieshwar Street, Thiruneersamdhar Street and the lanes in Thamarai housing complex have not been laid since the neighbourhood developed from a farming area into a residential locality in 1970s.
With the regular downpour in recent days, these lanes have turned into a cesspool. Those who take these routes have to wade through knee-deep stagnant water. When the road turns slushy and slippery, motorists and pedestrians often injure themselves.
“During night, one have to risk themselves in travelling in one of these stretches as poor lit street lanes make it difficult to spot pot holes on these stretches,” said S.Rajagopal, a resident in Tirumangalam.
With the on-going flyover work at Tirumangalam and Metro Rail work in other parts of Anna Nagar, most of the busy stretches in the neighbourhood are chaotic. As a result, street lanes like Thiruvalleshwar Street and Thiruneersamdhar Street are widely used by motorists especially from western and north west of the city including Ambattur, Padi, Nolambur, Mogappair, Mannurpet, Kolathur, Korattur, Pattaravakkam and Red Hills use these stretches to skip traffic chaotic Roads like 13th and 18th Main Roads in Anna Nagar. Many small street lanes in Thirumangalam connect Tirumangalam with Koyembedu at the water tank point in Tirumangalam. “Street lanes like Thiruvalleshwar and Thiruneersamdhar are shorter routes to reach Poonamallee High (PH) Road via Koyembedu and Tirumangalam rather than taking the existing long route via 18th Main Road and Anna roundtana,” said K.Meenakshi, a motorist from Padi.
As these stretches in the neighbourhood are frequently used, the street lanes in Tirumangalam got damaged over the years. Poor maintenance by the civic body have worsen the condition of the stretches. “Steps would be taken to re-lay these stretches with bitumen soon. Necessary funds would also be allocated for the work,” said a Corporation official.
