The subway on Panagal Road, which connects junctions such as Goripalayam and Anna Nagar, is a picture of neglect. And the reason is not far to seek: it is rarely used by pedestrians.
The subway, which was built under the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) by late CPI(M) MP P. Mohan, was initially designed to ensure that pedestrians — and patients arriving by town buses to go to Government Rajaji Hospital — had a safe path to cross the road.
Now, it is used as a public toilet. Add lack of adequate lighting to the stench, no wonder people steer clear of it.
Interestingly, a similar plan to construct a subway on East Veli Street near St. Joseph School under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission in 2008-09 never took off although detailed project reports were prepared.
“No allocations were made because the project was not feasible. Major pipelines, particularly to the main water pumping station, fall on this route. That’s why it never took off,” a senior Corporation official says.
Says G. Manickem, who set up his shop on Panagal Road in 1971: “People prefer jaywalking to using the subway because it stinks. We suggested at a stakeholders’ meeting that the subway be constructed on a wider stretch, preferably near Goripalayam. Our suggestions went unheeded.”
The subway is open from 6:30 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. “Although the gates are locked after that, it still does not prevent miscreants from breaking in,” according to a Corporation Health department source.
Come rainy season, water floods the subway, making it unusable. Conservancy workers have a difficult time clearing the water.
Ask Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Arun Balagopalan, he contends that pedestrians began crossing the road when the central median between GRH and the subway was demolished in order to ensure quick movement of ambulances and doctors’ vehicles into the hospital without having to negotiate a 100-metre-bend.
“However, the installation of barricades along the stretch has reduced the number of fatalities over the last six months,” the DCP says.
Reeling out statistics, he he points out that fatalities came down from five to one between 2017 and 2018 on Panagal Road. This year, non-fatal accidents have dipped from 12 to five.
If railings are placed on the footpath and the encroachments removed, the road will see far less fatalities, the senior police official adds.
Meanwhile, the Corporation has come up with other initiatives to ease pedestrian congestion on Panagal Road.
For instance, a skywalk connecting Government Rajaji Hospital’s trauma care centre near Anna Bus Stand and the upcoming 320-bed super-speciality block on the opposite side of the road is under construction.
Madurai South MLA S.S. Saravanan says he plans to visit the area and also convene a meeting with police and civic officials to improve the situation at the subway.
