The 18th Main Road in Anna Nagar is nearly invisible when more than three cars drive on it. Plumes of dust rise up throughout the day, with the uneven road being both unmotorable and dug up on various stretches.
The road carries an active stream of traffic and serves as 24A bus route. But in the past month, since the rain, the conditions have been far from ideal for a bus route.
This road connects some of the large colonies of Anna Nagar West like Vasantham and Ullasam colony, besides 35 streets and happens to be one of the many bus route roads announced by the Corporation for patchwork. The work had started at a slow pace a few days ago, alleged local residents.
But heaps of gravel that were layered onto the road to fill up potholes have not only made it unmotorable but also heavily polluted for commuters and pedestrians alike.
Mohan, a security guard sits in front of Syndicate bank with a protective face mask. “The road work has started but after the rains, the dust is too much. I wish they would lay the roads fast as it has become terrible after the rains,” he says.
CG Rathinam, a retired Railways officer and a resident of the locality opines that the road levels should not be tampered with, as it causes several issues. “I hope the scraping is done completely before relaying. For now, it has been left midway and you can see there’s no walking space too,” he says, pointing to the heap of rubble on the road corners. Along with these mounds of gravel, several parts of the road also have deep trenches dug out to get rid of the water when the flood saw its worst spell.
Some respite though, is in sight. “From the bus route work side, it will be sorted out within three-four days when we scrape off the existing road, and start relaying it,” assured a Corporation official, while acknowledging that the road needed much repair.
Six-foot Deep Trenches Hinder Commuters
Along with gravel, several parts of the road also have 6-foot-deep trenches dug out to drain stagnant water when the flood saw its worst spell during the first week of December. The storm water drains were clogged with mud, waste and sewage, due to which the trenches had to be dug. Commuters, especially parents who come to drop their children at Faith International school there, have to skirt by the trenches carefully while they send vast plumes of dust onto vehicles tailing behind.