VILLUPURAM: About 200 residents of Arasur village in Villupuram staged a one-day hunger strike on Wednesday. They demanded that a new overbridge be built near Bharathi Nagar to reduce accidents in the area, which is located along the Chennai—Trichy highway stretch.
The protest came after an overbridge construction began at the Arasur junction recently, and the village residents demanded that they want another bridge nearby.
"At least one accident every month occurs at the Bharathi Nagar junction of the highway, and it is the residents who fall prey to the 'deadly' crossroad," said A Siva (45), who participated in the protest.
Official sources from the district police office state that 300 accidents have happened at the junction since it came into use in 2009, making it a count of 15-17 accidents per year, which confirms the average of one accident every month.
Due to the frequency of accidents, the National Highways Authority of India proposed constructing an overbridge at the junction to reduce accidents in 2019. Subsequently, in 2023, the highways department announced that the foundation for the bridge's construction had been laid. Two years later, the bridge is now being constructed at the Arasur junction.
Meanwhile, the NHAI project Director told TNIE, "The villagers are demanding a new bridge at Bharathi Nagar, just 500 metres away from the Arasur bridge that's just taken off. But we have also sent the proposal, and its approval is still pending."