The residents have lost hope of seeing a black-topped Madipakkam Main Road in place of a pothole-filled one. The road at Madipakkam (Division 187) of the Greater Chennai Corporation has been in a bad condition for more than a decade, with digging done by utilities.
There is no end in sight to the hardships caused to the residents and motorists.
Madipakkam Main Road, which runs parallel to Sabari Salai, links the busy Medavakkam Main Road with Ponniamman Koil Street. The road has several shops; hence, it is a destination for shoppers.
The main thoroughfare
K.V. John, who runs a shop on the road and is a resident of Madipakkam since 1996, says the road was once the main thoroughfare for the residents of Karthikeyapuram, Ullagaram and Puzhuthivakkam. Even Metropolitan Transport Corporation buses bound for Velachery were operated through it several years ago.
Mr. John, who also serves as the State vice-president of Tamizhnadu Vanigar Sangangalin Peravai, says the road was dug up, over a period of more than 10 years, for installing drinking water pipelines and sewers by Metrowater and for building the storm water drain.
The residents highlight the hardships faced by students taking the road to school and the problems they themselves face while going to banks and shops.
The Chennai Corporation repaired the road last week by dumping gravel, but the residents point out that a single spell of rain is enough to damage it.
S. Murugan, a resident of Sathsangam Street, explains that the merger of Madipakkam village with the Greater Chennai Corporation a decade ago had created hopes of improved civic amenities. But the residents of the locality have not seen any improvement in roads.
A senior official of the Chennai Corporation says that nearly one kilometre of the stretch is proposed to be made into a bitumen road. The letter of acceptance has been issued to the contractor. The road will be fully relaid by the middle of next month. As a temporary relief, the damaged portions have been filled with concrete mix, the official says.
