Residents of Anna Nagar were overjoyed when Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) commenced the restoration of what is popularly known as the Anna Nagar Roundtana, in June this year.
Three months later, this work came to a standstill as preliminary work on a subway, hardly 100 metres from the Roundtana, got under way.
The restoration is being carried out by GCC’s Bus Route Roads (BRR) Department.
Corporation officials said the civic body was waiting for Metro Rail to start its maiden underground service from Shenoy Nagar, before starting the restoration work.
With the Metro Rail service being inaugurated in May, the restoration was promptly started.
“Restoration of the roundtana was planned, keeping in view the fact that this move would help regulate traffic, which has increased with the opening of the Anna Arch flyover and Metro Rail services. But, subway work and shortage of funds with the civic body have together blocked the restoration project,” said a Corporation official.
Taking lessons from the crisis, the police installed CCTV cameras on the post holding the traffic signals at the junction, a week ago.
Landscaping with a fountain and LED lights is among elements that will contribute to the aesthetic quotient of the roundtana.
A modern digital traffic signal will also be installed. Six-feet-deep concrete sumps will be built to store water that will be used for the plants at the roundtana. A steel fencing will be built to trespassing at the roundtana.
More importantly, the now-defunct four-sided clock tower will be restored to its past glory, following the original plan.
In keeping with the original design, the statue of the former Chief Minister C.N. Annadurai will come up at the centre of the roundtana.
For residents of Anna Nagar, the roundtana serves more than the mundane purpose of traffic regulation. When the roundtana was at the height of its popularity, residents of the locality would assemble there, after a long walk between Tirumangalam to Chintamani, which accounts for a distance of around two kilometres.
For shopkeepers, the clock at the roundtana was their time-keeper.
Now, with the Chennai Metro Rail planing to construct a subway for its commuters, Corporation officials say it take a few more years for the restoration of the roundtana to be completed.
