Virugambakkam weary of flooding and battered roads

From a clogged canal to traffic chaos, the constituency faces many issues

“It took nearly a month following the floods for the area to return to normality. Virugambakkam was one of the worst-hit localities during the floods and this is primarily due to neglect of civic issues for a long time,” says Kumaran Shiva, a resident of the area for several years now.

From traffic congestion to bad roads, residents of Virugambakkam constituency have had complaints for years now, they say.

Mr. Shiva says it is always a struggle to wade through traffic every day on Kaliamman Koil Street. “How long do we have to wait for the road to be widened? Also, there are encroachments on the road, further shrinking it,” he says.

Plans, only on paper

This road connects Koyambedu with Arcot Road and hence numerous commuters take it every day. Though the first master plan prepared in 1975 recommended the widening of the road, it still has not become a reality, but with growing vehicle population, this is something that cannot be ignored for long. An RTO office located on this road has aggravated the traffic congestion with too many vehicles coming to the office, say residents.

M. Subramanian, a resident of Chinmaya Nagar for the past 35 years, says, “The traffic regulation here certainly has to improve. The congestion cannot go on for long.”

The Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) canal-widening project hasn’t been done well, a factor contributing to flooding during heavy rains, say residents.

Desilting, need of the hour

“No one dared enter the area during the floods. Every year when the monsoon sets in, we are nervous. Unless the desilting of the canal is carried out efficiently and dumping of garbage is stopped, the canal will pose problems,” he adds. Mr. Shiva notes that most roads here are in poor condition almost throughout the year. “And whenever they lay roads here, the job is done in such a shoddy manner that the newly laid roads cannot weather the monsoon,” he adds. Also, owing to dumping of garbage, the sewerage gets blocked often, he says.

“We have only been waiting for someone to fix these issues for us,” he adds, in a tone tinged with frustration.