CHENNAI : Residents of Sakthi Nagar in Porur have been regularly denied access to the Sakthi Nagar Main Road from Mount Poonamallee High Road. In a mail to The New Indian Express, T Aravindan, a member of Sakthi Nagar Residents Welfare Association, said that the gap in the central median that allows access to the road is being barricaded at the behest of commercial establishments in the vicinity.
When the barricades are in place during peak hours, residents are forced to commute a few extra kilometres in bumper to bumper traffic and enter Sakthi Nagar via the Porur Bridge signal or the Mugalivakkam signal.
“This is a big inconvenience to residents as they commute to and from their workplaces in various parts of the city,” said SJ Padmaraj, secretary of the Sakthi Nagar Residents Welfare Association.The Sakthi Nagar Main Road is an important road in Ward 153 of the Porur zone as it has a Chennai Corporation E-Seva centre, a Primary Health Centre and Post Office in a span of 200 metres.
“People from the entire ward require quick access to the road, but the traffic police hamper entry with barricades in a bid to ease traffic on the Mount Poonamallee High Road,” said Ravi Shankar, a member of the resident welfare association, explaining it also connects the city to the southern suburbs such as Kundrathur.
According to residents, the barricading of the central median gap began only after a big shopping plaza and eatery joint opened in the stretch abutting the main road. They claimed that the idea of preventing entry and exit of vehicles was to enable easy crossing for customers and staff members.On Thursday, Express found customers of these commercial establishments had also parked vehicles along the Sakthi Nagar Main Road, and causing bottlenecks in the stretch. But when Express photographers went to take photos, the barricades were removed.
The traffic police have, however, denied acting on the behest of commercial establishments.
“That particular stretch of the Mount Poonamallee Road is damaged at the extremities because of work that was carried out by the EB and Metro Water Department. Since commuters are sticking to the portion with a tar coating, there are traffic jams and we are forced to close the central median gap with barricades,” said a senior police officer, assuring a quick remedy.