The trenches dug along roads in several parts of the city for the construction of stormwater drain have been filled with rainwater, causing hardship to residents and motorists.
Vehicular traffic has been hit in central areas of T. Nagar, K.K. Nagar, Ashok Nagar, Royapettah, Adyar, Anna Nagar, Villivakkam, Mylapore and Perambur as motorists struggle to drive through narrow and slushy roads.
The busy shopping district of T. Nagar has turned into one big cesspool, thanks to the work on stormwater drain on Bazullah Road, Somasundaram Street, Ramachandra Street and Ananda Street and rainwater filling the trenches.
Pandian, a resident of Anna Nagar, said several roads in south Villivakkam, including Seeyalam Street, East Mada Street, and Bhaskar Street, Bazaar Street and Sannathi Street, were blocked.
Similarly, traffic snarls have become the order of the day on Pulianthope High Road, Powder Mills Road, Decaster Road, Dr. Ambedkar College Road, Demellows Road, Kolathur Main Road and Poompuhar Nagar 1st Main Road in north Chennai. The situation is no better in Royapettah, Adyar, Thiruvanmiyur and Velachery.
Commissioner’s circular
A senior official of the Greater Chennai Corporation said stormwater drain construction has been taken up on 559 roads with funds drawn from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the World Bank, the Flood Relief Fund and the Singara Chennai project. Work was being executed as per a circular issued by the Corporation Commissioner Gagandeep Singh Bedi who had asked the contractors to take all steps to ensure the safety of construction workers as well as members of the public. He said the project could be executed only during the summer and the surprise showers in the last few days had slowed down the pace of work.
Regarding complaints of slow pace of work in some areas, the official said the Commissioner had set a target of constructing 100 m of drain daily for contractors. The work was being monitored at all levels and contractors were pulled up and fined for slow progress of the work.
