Be it the Masakalipalayam Road, the streets that branch off it on the east and west or the lanes that branch off from those streets, there has never been an occasion in the past year or so when road users have had a smooth ride.
Their bumpy rides, avoidable damage to the bottoms of cars and much more began when the Coimbatore Corporation completed the work but failed to restore the road – restoration means dumping the dug earth into the trenches where the underground drainage pipelines are buried.
This has left unfit for use those portions of the roads where the underground pipelines are laid and battered where the works were not taken up. The worse are those areas around the manhole lid, says R. Krishnaveni, a resident.
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While the lids protrude out, the area surrounding them are without earth, making the area very dangerous for road users. The area around manhole lids have been the cause of several accidents, complains R. Ramasamy, also a resident.
The Corporation taking up the storm water drain have only added up to the problem, adds Ms. Krishnaveni.
In the nearby Rajalakshmi Nagar, the situation is no different. It will only make news only if the Corporation were to construct roads there, for the residents have become so used to the bad roads, quips resident A. Selvaraj.
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In short, the roads in the localities on the east and west of Masakalipalayam Road resemble the paniaram plate, rues Mr. Ramasamy.
The Corporation needs to repair the roads at the earliest, if not the Kongunadu Jananayaka Katchi will be forced to stage a protest by running bullock carts on the roads to highlight the rather pathetic condition, says G.K. Nagaraj, founder-president.
The party took up the issue with Mayor P. Rajkumar and there was some result in that the civic body took up patch work but that is not enough. The area needs new, well-built roads, he says and adds that the quality of the roads should be such that they withstand heavy vehicle movement, for buses to Singanallur use those to avoid the Hope College Junction.
Coimbatore Corporation officials say the Council has sanctioned over Rs. 50 lakh for the roads in the area and the work will begin soon.