Residents of many parts of Ambattur have stopped using their vehicles for over three months now. Instead, they walk a few km for their daily needs. Their move is not by choice but more by force in view of the battered roads and those that had been dug up for developmental works.
Many roads have been dug up in various wards of the municipality due to an ongoing pipeline laying work, as part of the underground drainage and drinking water supply network project of Chennai Metrowater. Residents said the intermittent showers since June have compounded the problems for the road-users.
S. Vijaya of Korattur said many roads in Thillai Nagar, Kasturi Nagar and K.R.Nagar have been reduced to shambles as the trenches dug up for pipeline laying work has not been properly closed.
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“Whenever it rains, the loose earth caves in and many vehicles get trapped in the slush. Residents particularly elderly persons often slip and fall on the roads,” she said.
Residents of Vivekananda Nagar and Vanasakthi Nagar in Kolathur, falling under the Ambattur Municipality, are in worse situation as even walking on the streets has become a challenge. Wooden slabs have been placed on the slushy roads in parts of Kolathur to facilitate pedestrian movement.
J. I. A. Easter Raj, a resident of Vivekananda Nagar, said it is a welcome initiative to provide drainage and water supply network. But, the dug up roads have crippled daily life for over four months.
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“We have stopped getting tanker water supply for the past three months. We walk for one km to fetch pots of water from neighbouring streets. People who deliver LPG cylinders, milk and posts find it hard to come to our houses and as a result the services are delayed,” he said.
Many residents are forced to park their vehicles on the nearby roads despite the risk of vehicle theft. Walking on these roads during night is another challenge as many streetlights are not functioning, residents complained.
Officials of Ambattur Municipality said road digging for developmental works would be stopped from this month-end till the end of north-east monsoon. “We may not be able to provide bitumen roads. But, we plan to lay water-bound macadam roads with stones and sand at an estimated cost of Rs.61 lakh before the onset of the monsoon,” an official said. Of the total 2,500 streets in the municipality, nearly 880 affected roads would be covered under the project.