The perils of living along arterial stretches

The ECR and the OMR are very happening places but for those who live there, getting to the rest of the city is a hassle

East Coast Road – the scenic beachway is the shortest getaway for Chennai residents who want to take a quick break. Rajiv Gandhi Salai – the IT corridor — is where several thousand people from all over the city find jobs in software and allied sectors. However, people living along these two important roads that run parallel find it an ordeal to reach the rest of the city for work, having to change autos, buses and trains, in addition to private transport.

Youth like S. Arjun of Kandanchavadi who is in his first job, commute to their offices by buses and share autos to different locations across the city.

“I change buses at Adyar depot. I start by 8.30 a.m. so that I am in office on time and ensure that I do not board crowded buses. When I was in college, I would go till Guindy by bus and then take a train to Nungambakkam as there are no direct buses,” said the youngster. He makes it a point to travel with his friends as often as possible as it takes away the burden of travelling long distances.

Every day, over a lakh vehicles cross the toll plaza at Perungudi in Rajiv Gandhi Salai, the city’s IT Corridor.

ECR is equally crowded and junctions at Thiruvanmiyur and Tidel park are a choc-a-bloc with traffic during rush hour.

“It takes 45 minutes to cross SRP tools and Tidel park junctions. A few minutes delay in leaving your home before rush hour means getting stuck in traffic and watching vehicle tail lights,” said B. Kannan, a resident of Thoraipakkam.

The government has proposed an elevated corridor to reduce OMR’s traffic problems but it might not help, feels a traffic planner.

“A train service is a must for the over lakh IT employees working there and thousands of residents commuting to the city. So also for ECR,” the planner said.

Star-gazing, an ideal summer pastime

The summer might make people think of taking short and long breaks from their work, but for astronomers, this is the best weather for stargazing in the city. Several students in the city and even their parents have taken up sky-watching over the summer holidays.

R. Ashwin, a Class VIII student, has been learning how to identify constellations through the internet.

“I started this hobby when one of my uncles from the United States gifted a telescope. When I started, I could only spot Orion, but now, I can identify almost all constellations visible in summer,” he said..

Raj Narendran, who is studying in Class VII, is another student who has taken up looking at the night sky to identify various planets and stars. “I attended an assembly by D. Vijayakumar, president of Tamil Nadu Astronomical Society and I was hooked,” he said. Raj and his mother spend a couple of hours every week to observe daily variations in the night sky.

“Now, we are considering buying a telescope to explore the night sky further,” he said.

According to Mr. Vijayakumar, over the years, there has been a drastic increase in the number of students who are interested in astronomy. “Every day, I get a number of questions on different aspects of the sky from people,” he pointed out. A casual observer will be able to see Jupiter, the Orion, Canis Major and Minor, Venus, Leo, Southern Cross, and the stars closest to the sun – Alpha and Beta Centauri, he added.

(Reporting by

Deepa H. Ramakrishnan and Kavita Kishore)