Bad interior roads are a common sight in many areas off Rajiv Gandhi Salai, including Navalur and Thazhambur. Negotiating pot holes and craters and inhaling a lot of dust have become part of the daily routine of many living in these areas.
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The road leading to DLF Garden City in Thazhambur near the Perumbakkam Slum Board tenements has been bad since last October, complain parents of students in various schools in the locality. “Some repairs were carried out during the rains, but after that the road quality deteriorated badly and about half a kilometre of the road is just awful,” said Subha, a parent who drives down from Medavakkam daily.
Proximity to Rajiv Gandhi Salai has meant the development of thousands of apartment complexes and many schools for the children in them. “Recently, there was an accident involving an autorickshaw and a two-wheeler on Thazhambur Main Road. This was due to a large crater that the motorists tried to avoid. The two-wheeler rider sustained injuries and the autorickshaw was mangled. The road was laid only about six months ago,” said Ashok Rajendran, a resident of Navalur.
Residents said that the local panchayats do not react to potholes and craters even by filling them up with building debris. “We can only blame poor quality of road laying and bad drainage. If the road had the correct slope, the water would find its own way out and cause less damage to the road,” said Elijah Mathew, a resident of Navalur.
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Residents have demanded that the Chengalpet district administration take immediate steps to repair and re-lay roads including Thrisakthi Amman Koil Road, Thalambur Main Road and Karanai Main Road.