Three months after a foot overbridge near the Saidapet court complex on the busy Taluk Office Road was opened for public use, work to install elevators, on either side of the facility is yet to begin.
In the absence of the lifts, most of the people crossing the road prefer to run across, risking their lives and posing problems for motorists. The situation in the area gets worse, particularly during rush hour, at the traffic island near Little Mount. Many motorists violate traffic norms by going in the wrong direction.
At the time of the laying of the foundation stone for the Rs.33.07-lakh foot overbridge in September 2009, the Chennai Corporation had announced that the facility would get elevators. The cost of elevators was estimated at Rs.48 lakh.
K. Chandrasekaran, a senior citizen and resident of Srinagar Colony, said that very few people used the foot overbridge.
“Of say 100 persons crossing the road, only two would be using it. Even at home, I try to avoid using stairs… so I do not use the bridge but run across despite the risks involved. After 7.30 p.m. there is no policeman to help us cross the road.”
Even otherwise one foot overbridge is not enough in the area. Many people who get down at the bus stop on Anna Salai have to cross the road and then again cross Taluk Office Road to reach the court complex, an advocate at the Saidapet Court said. When the traffic lights do not function and in the absence of traffic police, many people run across from one side to the other on Anna Salai. At the Little Mount junction, traffic and people come from all sides, he added.
Corporation Commissioner D. Karthikeyan said, “We are examining the possibility of having lifts there.”
Leader of Opposition in the Corporation Council Saidai P. Ravi said that the civic body must not give up the idea of elevators. “The Corporation had announced that lifts would be installed there and we must keep our promises,” he said.
