Ever since it started raining in the city, a group of policemen, attached to the Maduravoyal traffic enforcement wing, have gone beyond their call of duty. They have been repairing a stretch in Vanagaram that gets damaged on a daily basis.
The Chennai-Bengaluru bypass sees heavy movement of vehicles, especially lorries from automobile firms. “Around 450 m of the road at Vanagaram gets frequently damaged, and the National Highways Authority of India has been relaying it with cement,” a senior police officer said.
Till the road is relaid, vehicles, including lorries, use the service road. However, rain and regular movement of vehicles have left the service road battered. “Many motorists have fallen on the stretch. This is slowing down vehicles and leading to congestion,” said P.S. Sundaravadhanam, traffic enforcement inspector, Maduravoyal.
Hence, every morning, personnel from the Maduravoyal traffic enforcement wing, including sub-inspector Govindarajan and head constables Venkatachalam, Raj Kumar and Anandan, arrive at the stretch and start relaying the road.
“We bring an earthmover and some construction debris and repair the battered parts, till around 8 a.m. After this, we return to our regular duty. There are 50 personnel at the station, and all of us together ensure that the motorists are not inconvenienced,” the inspector said.
S. Ravi, a motorist, said people used to shout at the policemen working on the road and slowing the traffic. “Then we realised it was for our own good,” he said. S. Lakshmi, Deputy Commissioner, traffic (north), said the problem would end after the main road is re-laid.
