On Wednesday, a loud noise led 32-year-old R. Kala to step out of her kitchen at her housing quarters in NVN Nagar, Tirumangalam. It turned out to be providential as a huge portion of the concrete ceiling in her kitchen came crashing down minutes later. It is believed that the crash happened due to the impact of the demolition work carried out by workers of the State Highways Department as part of the on-going flyover project at Tirumangalam.
Around 3 p.m. on Wednesday, workers with the State Highways were busy demolishing the existing old stormwater drain on 15th Cross Street to lay a new stormwater drain as part of the Rs. 60.2 crore flyover project at Tirumangalam, one of the busiest junctions in the city.
As the work was being carried out, a few houses at the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB) housing quarters were allegedly damaged due to the impact of the demolition.
“People came out of their houses when they heard a huge noise coming from the worksite. Only when they returned to their houses did they notice the cracks on the walls and ceilings,” said S. Rajasekar, a carpenter who lives on the first floor of the housing quarters for nearly four decades.
Rajasekar’s house is one of 40 on 14th street.
NVN Nagar in Tirumangalam was developed as a housing colony by TNSCB during 1970s when Anna Nagar was developed as a neighbourhood. The aim of the housing quarters was to re-settle slum dwellers evicted from various parts of north Chennai due to several infrastructure works.
NVN Nagar has 15 streets with around 370 houses. The 14th and 15th streets in NVN Nagar are located near the flyover project site in Tirumangalam abutting the Jawaharlal Nehru (JN) Main Road.
Further, as the project is already behind schedule, the State Highways officials are in a hurry to complete the flyover work before June. “The flyover work involves coordination of various state agencies including Tangedco, Metro Water and the Corporation as we have to get their nod for any pipe laying, cable shifting and road cutting works. We did not expect such cracks on the walls of the houses,” said a State Highway official. Immediately after the incident, officials from TNSCB, State Highways, Corporation and the police department inspected the damaged houses and met the affected residents. Subsequently, on February 12 (Thursday), a team of officials of the TNSCB repaired the damaged houses and assured the residents there wouldn’t be any further damage to the houses in the neighbourhood. For years, the TNSCB housing quarters in Tirumangalam has been denied regular maintenance and repairs.
