CHENNAI: City traffic police closed the General Patters Road off Anna Salai for vehicular traffic on Tuesday morning due to water stagnation after the downpour on Monday night. Due to the inconvenience caused to the general public, Ward 63 Siva Raajashekaran has written to the highways department seeking action against the contractor who was engaged to carry out stormwater drain construction in the area.
In the letter, the councillor claimed that the contractor had dug up pits without providing information to the corporation, which led to the most recent episode of water stagnation. “The pits dug up for stormwater drains are filled with drainage water. The contractor has also dug up pits without proper safety measures near places that the public frequents, like commercial complexes and shops. The work is also being carried out at a slow pace,” said the councillor in his letter.
To add to the public woes, the contractor failed to respond to my calls, said the councillor and urged the department to take appropriate action against the contractor. Water stagnation was also seen on Border Thottam, VN Doss Road, and LGN Road among other places. The councillor also sent a letter to the police seeking action against the contractor. Due to the water stagnation, vehicular traffic on GP Road was blocked till the afternoon.
Water stagnation was also reported from Pantheon Road in Egmore and Thiruvanmiyur bus stand, etc. However, it was cleared by the afternoon. Chennai Corporation on its Twitter handle said the drain was blocked to facilitate highway road work. It was unblocked for the water to recede, also the water was also pumped out with the help of motors.