A gaping issue

Surefootedness is the key to safety for anyone treading this path, says T. Madhavan

April 08, 2013 04:42 pm | Updated 04:42 pm IST

Crying for attention: A broken footpath on Second Main Road poses a threat to walkers.

Crying for attention: A broken footpath on Second Main Road poses a threat to walkers.

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.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.