CHENNAI: Over the past week, the city corporation patched up potholes at around 2,000 locations, spanning around 30,000 square feet, senior corporation officials told TNIE. The civic body began taking up road maintenance works from Tuesday, a day after a 32-year-old man was run over by a bus after his bike hit a pothole.
Although the road where the accident occurred was maintained by the State Highways department, the city corporation had taken up filling potholes in the city ever since, and allocated `10 lakh each for all the 15 zones for this purpose. A survey by the civic body had revealed 942 roads in the city were in need of maintenance works.
Asked how long the patch work would last, an official said it will hold for around two-three months by which time, they will ensure it will be permanently dealt with. “Once we get some breathing time, we will ensure it is permanently fixed. Our aim is to ensure that it holds till the end of the rains this season so that the public can travel safely,” said an official.
While the corporation’s maintenance drive has been met with a positive response from the public, residents said the exercise should be incorporated into the yearly monsoon preparedness measures instead of waiting till a mishap occurs. “Now the potholes are repaired but we don’t know how long those will last. It should be a yearly exercise at least ahead of the rains to ensure safety of motorists,” said R Veeraraghavan, a student from Adambakkam.