If you are going down Second Main Road in Anna Nagar East towards Second Avenue or Chintamani, watch your steps. A three-foot-wide gaping hole in the footpath, with a drain flowing underneath, is waiting to gobble you up.
Residents complain that the broken pavement has been ignored by civic authorities for over three months now. “This footpath has not broken down in a day or a month. Its condition has been steadily deteriorating over the last few months and no efforts have been made to mend it,” said A. Sharma, who lives on First Main Road, K Block.
After the prolonged indifference of civic authorities, residents have chosen to gloss over the broken pavement. “Unable to walk on the pavement, people now go down the busy road putting their life and limb in danger,” said Deepak, a resident of Second Main Road. Connecting Bougainvilla Park on 6th Avenue with Second Avenue in Anna Nagar East, this stretch is always busy, said another resident.
Shoba Manickam, who has taken up the issue with the Chennai Corporation, said the repair had not been carried out, despite assurances from authorities at the zonal level.
“As a huge number of walkers take this road, this trench is dangerous,” she said and is keeping her fingers crossed that action is quickly taken to avoid any major mishap.
Meanwhile, Chennai Corporation officials said the issue is on their radar. “The problem has come to our notice. Though the gap has been there for quite some time, we have unfortunately not been able to deal with it. We assure the residents that the pavement will be fixed soon," said a Corporation official.