Months have elapsed since the drainage pipelines were laid on the 13th Main Road in Shanthi Colony, Anna Nagar, but the stretch is still sandy and on both sides of it, large-sized discarded pipes lie helter-skelter.
According to residents, the pipe-laying work was completed many months ago by the Chennai Metrowater, but Greater Chennai Corporation has not re-laid the stretch.
More importantly, the unused pipes have been allowed to lie on the stretch, which has hindered the free movement of vehicles from the neighbourhood. In fact, huge pipes occupy nearly half of the space of the stretch leaving alone only a narrow pathway for vehicular movement.
“With swirls of dust rising from the sandy stretch, we keep our doors and windows shut most of the time. Children are not allowed to play outside their houses as they get hurt on the uneven sandy stretch,” says S. Kavitha, a resident of Anna Nagar.
Besides eating into the road space, the unused pipes serve as a den for antisocials. Taking advantage of poor illumination on the stretch, they take refuge behind stacks of discarded pipes. Some pipes are large enough for a hefty adult to squirm into. A few streetlights along the occupied portion of the stretch were damaged by miscreants to prevent surveillance by the police.
Interestingly, a police booth is located at the intersection of 13th Main Road and the Fourth Avenue Main Road, off Jawaharlal Nehru Main Road in Anna Nagar. The dusty road, which starts from the police booth, provides connectivity for residents in ‘Y’ and ‘Z’ blocks that have nearly 15 street lanes with most of the individuals living in independent houses and small apartment complexes.
Further, the stretch provides connectivity for students of a Government School in the neighbourhood. “Vehicles as big as garbage vans and Metrowater lorries cannot travel on the road, as it has become narrow due to the presence of the discarded pipes,” says B. Suresh, a resident of Anna Nagar.
Residents have said that the Corporation should lay the road with bitumen immediately because students from the neighbourhood have to walk nearly one kilometre to board school buses and vans as these vehicles are unable to ply on the sandy stretch.
There have been times when vehicles have got stuck in the closed trench along the stretch.
“We are aware of the bad condition of the road. However, lack of funds is a problem. And, permission from senior officials at Ripon Buildings is also needed to re-lay the road,” said a Corporation official.
