OMR is a pretty enclave but its linking roads are harsh realities — a classic example of double standards
Rajiv Gandhi Salai or OMR as it is popularly known is the most pampered road in the city: wide, well-landscaped, dotted with artwork and a place where you can travel relatively faster. But to use OMR, one has to first get there — and the journey to it is often harrowing. Whether you approach from Sardar Patel Road or Thiruvanmiyur or Velachery, there is no escaping the clogged junctions, crawling vehicles, impatient cars and traffic blocks.
OMR is a pretty enclave but its linking roads are harsh realities — a classic example of double standards, myopic planning and inaction. Why can’t we get one planning project right?
In 2001, the State government decided to build the 46 km stretch of OMR following the Confederation of Indian Industry’s complaint that recurring accidents on this road caused injuries to IT professionals and their visiting foreign clients. As part of the first phase, a 20 km six-lane road at a cost of Rs. 290 crore was completed in 2008. In their hurry to provide a glamorous address for IT companies, the planners focused only on the construction of OMR and did not bother about its connectivity with the rest of the city. The impact of accommodating more than three million square metre of office space was not foreseen.
With no residential accommodation, schools or hospitals, it is impossible for most of the 2,00,000 employees who work on OMR to live on this road. They commute from the city and reach their destination from three key directions. As a result, 30,000 vehicles jam the entry points every day. They cannot be blamed.
A grade separator to ensure a free right turn at Madhya Kailash is a solution that would appeal to anyone’s common sense. Chennai Corporation claims that they too had thought about it and a proposal to ease traffic on both sides of the junction exists. But what stops them from implementing it?
About 7,000 sq.mt. of land has to be acquired from the sprawling campus of the Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI) to construct the grade separator. The CLRI refuses to part with the land and the Corporation is not keen to push it. Imagine, instead of CLRI if it was a group of houses sitting on the land needed. The civic body would have bulldozed them by this time.
Taramani Link Road and its junctions are equally problematic. Road widening, which started in 2009, is not yet complete and this Rs. 23 crore project is still underway. It is impossible to navigate this link during peak hours. The less said about Thiruvanmiyur junction the better.
One can see a similar ‘enclave’ approach in other projects as well. For example, there are no plans to redesign the approach roads or integrate parking and pedestrian flow around the metro stations. Plans to comprehensively develop areas around the stations are not ready, but there are already proposals to increase the Floor Space Index (ratio that determines the extent of construction in a plot). A huge commercial development in Santhome is on the drawing board, but there is no idea about how to manage the already congested road in front of it.
City planners and the Corporation work with blinkers on. There are no integrated plans. As a result, large developments continue to create gridlocks and poor residents nearby and others who can be bullied, are forced to vacate and make way for costly transport solutions. Why should Chennai residents always end up paying for planners’ mistakes? Why can’t we plan thoughtfully?
Keywords: Rajiv Gandhi Salai, Chennai city planners, traffic jam
Thanks for addressing concerns of OMR resident. IT Expressway which is currently managing this road is very keen on toll collection and is not providing other amenities. Please do highlight other issues like not even single bus-stop on whole OMR, need for subway(very few use overbridge as they are far from bus stop and senior citizens find it hard to climb the overbridge. Please support the movement against toll collection by signinig the petition below. Thanks
www.avaaz.org/en/petition/Antitoll_collection/?wWTYmcb
"With no residential accommodation, schools or hospitals, it is impossible for most of the 2,00,000 employees who work on OMR to live on this road"
I guess the above statement doesnt hold good anymore. We have many number of housing projects in OMR and almost 4-5 global hospital chains are present as of now. Schools...Many residential projects come with international schools in itself. Agreed the link roads are not proper..But the above statement is too misleading in terms of infra on OMR
Another observation on the OMR. Near the Sholinganallur junction, one can see motorists (2,3,4 & >4 wheeler) using the footpath to navigate their vehicles. Footpath is meant for pedestrians and not motorists. Unfortunately, people supposed to enforce this, our esteemed Chennai Traffic Police use this footpath to navigate their accent patrol cars. Will chennaiites do something about this? Let us not blame the police or other officials. As city-dwellers, it is OUR DUTY to follow rules properly. Will we do the same thing in a foreign country? No! then why here in India?
Traffic can be reduced in Thiruvanmiyur by giving a way near Indira
nagar. Vehicles coming from Adyar to Indira Nagar station to go to
Madhya Kailash has to go till Thiruvanmiyur station and take a you turn.
If we make a way for vehicles coming from SRP tools to go to Adyar or
Besant Nagar through Indira Nagar station most of the traffic will
reduce near Thiruvanmiyur.
Talking about the OMR, constructing a 6-lane world-class highway for IT industry is good but at the same time roads near manufacturing companies should also be improved. Roads inside Ambattur SIDCO estate prove that the government cares least for manufacturing industries while at the same time, pampers the IT industry by giving them 6-lane roads.
This 'lack of planning' seems to be a systemic problem in Chennai.Every year this same newspaper publishes news about a lot of development projects that have been PLANNED by CMDA, Corporation, PWD etc but it is now clear that most of these remain on paper only. Those that get implemented fail at the execution stage. And talking about lack of planning around metro rail stations, I am afraid the metro rail will go the MRTS way - disuse and lack of patronage !
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