A 21-year-old employee of an IT company was killed in an accident on Velachery-Taramani Link Road on Tuesday.
The incident triggered shock and anger among local residents, who attributed it to the reduced width of the road, due to encroachments.
The victim, Manikandan, was a resident of Kattabomman Street in Taramani. He died after a water tanker hit his motorcycle near a slightly-curved portion of the road, where visibility is allegedly affected because of encroachments.
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“A number of encroachments, mostly of business units, have sprung up on the road, and so the road’s width has reduced considerably. Some of the encroachments create bottlenecks and are a hindrance to motorists’ visibility,” said M. Anuradha, resident of nearby Ramagiri.
Residents said the encroaching shops have managed to get power supply. “The Chennai Corporation has the powers to issue licences to such shops. So it has to take action to stop them from inconveniencing road users,” a resident said.
The road, an important link between Velachery and Rajiv Gandhi Salai, has reduced by 15 to 20 feet because of the encroachments, they alleged.
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“At least one person is injured on the road every day. Its condition is worse during the rains. Police are unable to streamline traffic. The Corporation is not taking any effort to deal with the encroachments,” said S. Sasitharan of Baby Nagar.
Work on the road, which is ongoing, was originally scheduled to be completed in March 2011. The work is part of an urban transportation project. Apart from potholes, haphazard parking of vehicles near encroached shops pose a hazard and disrupt free flow of traffic.