V.G. Rao Nagar resident K. Muruganathan, a differently abled, has been having a tough time navigating through the railway underpass in Shoba Nagar, Avarampalayam.
He rides his customised scooter carefully so that he does not lose balance. “At least I’ve three wheels to balance on. My friends are not lucky. And, one of them fell while riding through the underpass and suffered a shoulder injury,” he says.
The underpass is filled with potholes and so are portions of the approach roads on both sides.
The underpass usually sees heavy traffic during office and schools hours and now more so as the alternative Avarampalayam Road is closed for the overbridge construction, says A. Maheshkumar, DMK secretary for the locality.
Under his leadership, over 100 residents staged a protest on Monday morning to draw the attention of the authorities.
Both the Southern Railway and the Coimbatore Corporation will have to repair the underpass and approach roads respectively. But they don’t seem to care, he says and justifies the inaction as the reason for the protest.
If the Railway and civic body were to repair the road, it provides them, the residents, with easy access to Sathyamangalam Road, Mr. Muruganathan points out.
As and when the underpass turns worse, the residents there dump earth or debris to even the surface to facilitate easy movement of vehicles, but the stop-gap arrangement too doesn’t last long as drivers of small goods carriers remove those to ensure that their vehicles do not touch the underpass ceiling.
Left with little option, the residents protested, he adds.
After the residents protested, Coimbatore City Police personnel rushed to the spot, pacified them and promised to take the issue to the notice of the authorities for action, Mr. Maheshkumar adds.
