Link Road in Nesapakkam is getting constricted due to unauthorised parking of vehicles. The practice began when COVID-19 lockdown was introduced last year, as the violators had the road all to themselves. Though volume of vehicular traffic is back to old levels, this practice continues.
The 300-metre-long Link Road connects Ramapuram and K.K. Nagar via Anna Main Road, and was opened for traffic in August 2017 as an alternative to First Main Road in Nesapakkam, which is narrow and therefore congested.
Being 18-metres-wide, Link Road made it easier even for buses to navigate it. In fact, Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) even came up with a new route via Link Road.
“As Link Road does not fall under the traffic police’s surveillance mechanism, lorry drivers park their vehicles on the stretch permanently. Due to such unauthorised parking, pedestrians are forced to walk on the carriageway,”says S. Suresh, a resident of Virugambakkam.
It may be recalled that when motorists complained that a public toilet and a Tasmac outlet at the intersection of Link Road and Anna Main Road in Nesapakkam obstructed their view of Link Road, from a distance, the public toilet was demolished. However, lorries are now parked on the section, which prevents optimal use of the road. Link Road is an ‘S’ shaped road with narrow bends and therefore, parked vehicles block the view of vehicles coming in the opposite direction.
According to the local traffic police, accidents have been reported from this road mainly during night. A Greater Chennai Corporation says, “Necessary steps will be taken at the earliest to prevent authorised parking of vehicles on Link Road.”
