CHENNAI:The narrow Sarojini Street in Pallavaram has become a not-so-secret pathway for blue metal (jalli kallu) owners. This is now the most used route for truckers carrying blue metal to and from the crushing units in Tirusulam. Sarojini Street runs parallel to the GST Road and connects the Dargah Road to the Pallavaram-Thoraipakkam Link Road via Railway Border Road. By using Sarojini Street, truckers can avoid police checkposts on GST Road, which regulate the movement of heavy commercial traffic during peak hours.
This constant movement of trucks has irked residents, who are mostly senior citizens. They wish to live in peace and quiet. “The blaring horns startle me. I’m a heart patient and these horrible surprises aren’t good for me,” said 70-year-old VJ Vekatrayan, explaining that the trucks cause unnecessary traffic jams.
Residents claim that on Monday morning police had fined truckers for plying blue metal during peak hours, but movement of trucks resumed in the afternoon after police left. “These truckers seem to have a network in place to know when the police leave,” alleged Sylvia, a resident of Sarojini street.
The trucks have broken two electricity board (EB) posts and have also damaged the Internet lines along the stretch. Tired of complaining, residents blocked one of the lorries on Wednesday, and told the driver not to use the residential route for commercial activity. The truck driver said he had no choice but to use the route. “I have to keep plying routes from the crushing units and if I use the GST Road, I’ll have to pay a bribe of `100 to police,” he said, adding he can’t afford to pay bribes with his minimum daily wage.
The Tipper Lorry Association at the Tirusulam crushing sites, however, claim that local lorries don’t use Sarojini Street to access the Pallavaram-Thoraipakkam Link Road. “The blue metal crushing units are predominantly owned by people from the districts and it is their lorries that use these routes,” said M Subramani, secretary, Tirusulam Tipper Lorry Association.
Local police say they have taken steps such as placing barricades to the ensure that lorries don’t use Sarojini Street. “We have asked the public to stop lorries and call us,” said a beat officer.
The highways department, which controls the subway service lane that allows access to Sarojini Street from Dargah Road, said they will also ensure movement of trucks is stopped. “Though the service lane can take the weight of the trucks, we don’t want to take any risks. We will stop the trucks by placing an overhead barricade,” said a senior official in the State Highways Department.