Residents of Pari Road in Mogappair were relieved when work on the stormwater drain on the stretch was completed. The new stormwater drain is expected to prevent flooding in the neighbourhood and discharge excess rainwater into the Otteri Nullah.
But it was not long before the sense of relief gave way to frustration. There was no indication that work on restoring the road dug up for stormwater-drain work would be started. Many months have elapsed now and the stretch is still ridden with potholes and uneven. Their is a pile-up of sand on the footpath. This tiled footpath is also damaged in many places, and is unsafe for pedestrians.
If not from any of these things, the present condition of the Pari Road can be gauged from the fact that many MTC buses skip the stretch and take a detour to reach their respective terminus in East and West Mogappair. As a result, commuters suffer, say residents.
Traffic movement on the two-kilometre road is considerably sluggish.
“We are not against the stormwater drain project,” says V. Ramani, a longtime resident of Mogappair, adding, “But the Corporation should have re-laid the stretch once the work had been completed. We made several complaints but to no avail.”
Corporation official says, “We do not have adequate funds and manpower. However, we have made arrangements to ensure the stretch is re-laid soon.”
Major link
Considered to be a lifeline for residents in the neighbourhood, Pari Road connects Mogappair with other neighbourhoods, which include Anna Nagar, Tirumangalam, Ambattur, Nolambur, Padi and Korattur.
As other key roads in the locality, Pari Road was wide, bitumen-topped till last year when the stormwater-drain work started.
Pari Road has many shops, banks, ATMs, health centres, schools, ration shops and milk outlets.
Further, the entire fleet of buses from the two bus terminus use this stretch to reach Poonamallee High Road via Anna Nagar and Tirumangalam. As schools are located on the Ambattur Industrial Estate Main Road, the stretch also serves as a key link road for school students in the neighbourhood.
