Corporation asked to repair Sathyamangalam—Sanganoor junction

The stretch of the road at Sathyamangalam Road - Sanganoor Road Junction that remains unattended after completion of underground drainage work. Photo: S. Siva Saravanan

It has been more than three months since the road at the Sathyamangalam Road — Sanganoor Road Junction was dug for undertaking the underground drainage work.

The contractors engaged for laying the UGD pipelines and constructing manholes completed the task but did not fill the holes with earth or gravel, complains A. Nandhakumar, Councillor, Ward 52.

It is not only place in his ward where the road has not been repaired after the execution of the UGD work.

Mr. Nandhakumar lists the GP Junction, the Chinnasamy Road and the stretch of the Sathyamangalam Road from the GP Signal to the Omni Bus Stand.

Mr. Nandhakumar says that Chinnasamy Road has been in a very bad condition for the past eight months or so.

When it does not rain, dust that gets kicked up when vehicles pass by invades houses and shops, making life difficult for the residents and shopkeepers, complains, S. Kannan, who runs a sweetmeat shop there.

He is forced to wipe off the dust every few minutes to keep the premises clean but that has not helped as the number of customers has come down.

“Earlier, I used to run the shop well past noon on Sundays.

“But now I’m forced to down the shutters by around noon as the patronage has come down.”

And, when it rains, even walking on the road becomes difficult as pedestrians and vehicles are forced to use the same space.

Mr. Nandhakumar adds that the pedestrians are forced to use the road because the pavements are in bad shape.

Likewise at the GP Junction, the Corporation is yet to fill the holes. There is a branch of a nationalised bank at the junction.

The bank’s customers and those who pass by the junction are put to hardship that can be easily eliminated if only the Corporation closes the holes.

Sources in the civic body say that the Corporation has paid the State Highways Department to undertake the repair work as a few of the roads dug for the UGD work come under the Department’s maintenance.

Mr. Nandhakumar says whether or not the Highways Department repairs the roads, the Corporation can at least dump gravel in pits to level the surface to make it safe for road users as stagnant rainwater makes it difficult to judge the depth of the pits.

The sources promised to look into the issue.