CHENNAI: For Ayodhi S, an auto driver, ever since the construction of the flyover for the Metro Rail project has begun near Thirumangalam Junction, travelling has become an Herculean task,
“It takes more time than usual to reach our destination. It is a source of discomfort to us, but this has been the case for months now. We are now used to it,” says Ayodhi.
The Inner Ring Road at Thirumangalam Junction is a connecting lane to Avadi, the Ambattur Industrial estate that has many manufacturing and IT companies and the Koyambedu bus terminus dotting it. Being one of the busiest areas in the city, the road has more than 1,000 vehicles plying every day. With the long-overdue construction of the flyover for the metro rail project creating potholes and occupying a substantial portion of the road, the congestion of traffic continues to be a nightmare for the motorists and pedestrians.
It adds to the woes of the pedestrians who find it tougher. “I have been late to office on various occasions because of traffic congestion. I need to find roundabout routes to avoid this. It is frightening to witness so many cars and buses just whizzing past when I don’t even have some place to stand and cross,” says Sushma N, an IT employee at Ambattur. According to regular commuters, the time taken to travel increases on an average of 15 minutes when the traffic movement is normal only to find the commutation time doubled during the peak hours.“SBOA School is close by and during the evenings, when the kids leave for the day, there is a huge addition to the volume of traffic and we face similar difficulties when the working population from Ambattur Industrial Estate pours in,” adds Sushma.