The Greater Chennai Corporation has received complaints from many residents about inadequate milling of roads, leading to an increase in the height of road level, which is one of the major causes of inundation of houses during the northeast monsoon.
Hundreds of houses were flooded in Chennai because of faulty road design and an increase in the roads’ height. A team of officials, led by Chief Secretary V. Irai Anbu, on Sunday inspected milling of roads ahead of re-laying work. They were accompanied by Corporation Commissioner Gagandeep Singh Bedi. Mr. Irai Anbu checked the measurements of roads, where milling was underway. The officials inspected roads such as Dr. DGS Dhinakaran Salai. Milling of bus routes was carried out in the stretches of some roads like Gandhi Irwin Salai on Monday. Milling on Ashok Nagar 11th Avenue, Pulla Avenue, Harrington Road, Taylor’s Road, New Avadi Road, Perambur Barracks Road, Basin Elephant Gate Road, Adithanar Salai, Muthusamy Salai, Pantheon Road Bridge, Besant Nagar Second and Seventh Avenue will be completed in a few days, ahead of the announcement of the local bodies election.
Road re-laying work on the bus routes is expected to be completed by February 20. However, as the local bodies election are expected to be announced by January 17, the work is likely to be disrupted. So, Corporation officials are hurrying to cover the important stretches.
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New work orders will not be issued after the announcement, but old projects that started before it can be taken up. A total of 79 bus routes out of 471 and 1,656 roads, including interior streets, will be re-laid.
Residents have been requested to call the Corporation helpline 1913 to report about inadequate milling of roads ahead of the re-laying. The Anna Nagar West Extension Residents’ Welfare Association president V. Rajagopal said 15 houses in T.V.S. Colony were inundated during the recent rain because of an increase in the height of the road level. “Anna Nagar West Extension 45th, 57th and 58th Streets in T.V.S. Colony do not have any stormwater drains because the roads are narrow. As the road level has increased, houses remained flooded for days after every spell of rain last monsoon,” he said.