Only recently, the Greater Chennai Corporation put up new LED street lights on Basin Bridge Main Road, replacing the old sodium vapour lights. They do shine bright but are hardly a guiding light for motorists and pedestrians. Without pruning, trees along the stretch are blocking the street lamps on both sides.
“The stretch is plunged in darkness after sunset. Hundreds of commuters from the Basin Bridge railway station and also bus commuters use this stretch. But without proper illumination, we are finding it hard to navigate this road. It is unsafe,” says K. Suriya Kumar, a commuter from Basin Bridge.
With the recent traffic changes on Wall Tax Road and Basin Bridge junction to facilitate renovation of Elephant Gate bridge by the Southern Railway, scores of motorists use Basin Bridge Main Road as an alternative route to reach Tiruvottiyur, Royapuram, Korukkupet, Manali, Tondiarpet. Buses from Broadway and Egmore terminus too ply on this road.
“This road is now a key commuting route and maintenance is important. The Greater Chennai Corporation should deploy workers to clean the pavements and prune the trees. Most of the trees are located inside the railway station and the sub-station premises with their branches spread across the stretch. Interestingly, the local office of the Corporation is located on this road and we wonder why they have not taken any steps to prune the trees,” says another commuter.
With the northeast monsoon already set in, motorists feel that the civic body should prune to trees immediately to prevent untoward incidents.
“Steps will be taken to prune the trees on the stretch soon,” says a Corporation official.
