CHENNAI : Every time a heavy vehicle, including a bus, crosses Padikuppam Road at Thirumangalam, potholes appeared at new spots making the road dangerous for motorists. As complaints to Greater Chennai Corporation fell on deaf ears, frustrated residents of Ambedhkar Nagar pooled in money and decided to take steps to repair the roads themselves.
Under the aegis of Amedhkar Nagar Residents Association, Rs 5,000 was collected to repair nine damaged streets in their locality. These include Bharathi Street, VOC Street, Netaji Street, Valluvar Street, Kambar Street, Anbu Street, Koil Street, Kannadasan Street and Padikuppam Road. “We see at least three to five two-wheelers meet with minor accidents every day due to bad road condition. We did not want the same to happen to our kids,” said P Amudha, a resident of Netaji Street.
A majority of streets were not re-laid even after Chennai Metrowater had finished most of the underground sewage pipe laying work, said Venkatesan P S, association president. “Metrowater finished laying pipes in a few parts and the corporation had to relay the dug-up roads. But no efforts were made from their side. We were tired of waiting for officials to take action, so we decided to do it ourselves,” he said.
Close to 1000 families that live in this locality found it very difficult to carry out their everyday activities with the road surface peeling off every time a heavy vehicle crossed by. Locals said that though the corporation commissioner visited their area two days ago, he did not acknowledge their efforts or take efforts to rectify the failure of the local body. “Stormwater drain work is going on. After we started taking efforts ourselves, officials said once such work is over, roads will be fully re-laid,” said Srinivasan, treasurer. Ambattur zonal officer was not available for comment.