Providing basic civic amenities along the suburban rail corridor and MRTS stretches remains a challenge in many areas of the Chennai Corporation. Even as the Chennai Corporation and Railways have been conducting meetings relating to various civic issues along the mass transit corridor, tussles regarding maintenance are yet to be resolved.
For example, the overbridge for pedestrians near Park Station was reconstructed by the Railways a few years ago. But pedestrians are unable to use the facility during the evening because of poor streetlighting. Civic body workers do not clear garbage in the area, claiming that the land belongs to Railways. Many commuters who have used the pedestrian overbridge near Park Station have reported instances of robbery in the past few years.
The delay in various projects proposed along the suburban and MRTS rail corridors has also affected civic conditions in areas such as Fort Station, Mambalam, Chennai Beach and Chintadripet MRTS.
Despite the Chennai Corporation Council announcing projects, such as the skywalk in George Town and Mambalam, a few years ago, it has not issued work orders. “Resettlement is yet to be carried out in some areas. The infrastructure work will be taken up shortly,” said an official.
