The stretch of Diwan Bahadur Road south of T.V. Samy Road Junction in R.S. Puram has reduced carriageway. In the last two days it has reduced further, thanks to stagnation of rainwater after the recent rain and slush on road margins.
It has forced two-wheeler riders and car drivers to park away from the margins. It has also made difficult the access to the pedestrian pathway.
Though the water stagnation does not last long it is more now after the Corporation has begun working on the road, say shopkeepers and autorickshaw drivers.
The civic body has dug the road to replace the drinking water pipeline as part of the 24x7 drinking water supply scheme and underground sewer line to take up the work to turn the D.B. Road a model road.
The ₹24.36 crore model road project is a part of the Smart Cities Mission project aimed at redesigning with ramps the pedestrian pathway for the entire length of D.B. Road for 1.8 km for a smooth walk, taking underground power and telecom cable through ducts, installing new bus shelters, earmarking spaces for hawkers among other improvements.
The Corporation started the work sometime in 2017 but suspended soon after it became clear the project, as designed, posed a threat to the green cover. After modifications to the design by accommodating the trees, the Corporation began resuming the work.
But it had to go slow, again, after it became clear that for it to take up the work, it had to replace the main underground sewer line as the old stoneware pipes that were 50 years old would not last long enough and if left unattended now post problems in the days to come.
This forced the Corporation to take up the underground sewer line work, which is now under progress, say sources familiar with the work.
The Corporation that has been laying rider sewer lines on road margins has thus far completed work on a 460 m stretch near Gandhi Park. Once it completes the work on the remaining 1.4 km, which is likely to take at least two months, it will connect rider sewer lines to the houses and thereafter abandon the old sewer line.
The sources also say that the diameter of the new rider sewer line varies from 300 mm to 400 mm, bigger than the 200 mm existing line keeping in mind the sewage flow in the years to come.
Meanwhile, the Corporation is constructing ducts to take underground power and telecom cables. It held a meeting with Tangedco in this connection. Once it gives the Corporation the cost of taking underground the overhead power lines, the civic body will deposit the money for it to take up the work at once.
Likewise, it has also had meetings with BSNL and other telecom service providers, the sources add.
The Corporation has more or less completed the work to replace the drinking water distribution pipelines on the D.B. Road, the sources also say and add that in the next few days the civic body will begin work to redesign the pedestrian pathway.
While such development works are necessary and there are bound to be short-term inconveniences the Corporation needs to take steps to mitigate the inconveniences, says an employee of a textile showroom on D.B. Road.
The delay in closing pits or trenches dug for laying pipeline or sewer line is not only causing hardships for shopkeepers but also affecting traffic movement. The delay also led to an autorickshaw getting stuck a few days ago in a pit at the East Lokamanya Street - D.B. Road Junction, says K. Mageswaran, a manager of a jewellery showroom.
Autorickshaw driver A. Amulraj says the Corporation along with the City Traffic Police need to regulate parking to ensure smooth traffic flow as the traffic congestion on D.B. Road has increased after the civic body took up the work.
The problem is more pronounced in the southern half of the D.B. Road because the Corporation has also taken up construction of the multi-level car parking lot, forcing car owners to park on road, complains autorickshaw driver D. Ravichandran.
While promising to look into the complaints and work with the Traffic Police, the Corporation officials say that to mitigate the hardships to the members of the public during the execution of the road and pedestrian pathway redesigning work, the Corporation plans to work in phases.
It will take a small stretch of the road, cordon off the area, and complete the entire work before moving on to the next stretch.
