CHENNAI: Despite repeated calls to fix them, the access roads to Ayanambakkam still remain nonmotorable. In one of the stretches, there are more than three open manholes that remain broken since Nivar cyclone. Street lights are missing in most of the places.
“The roads remain damaged for years now. The city corporation does not seem to bat an eye over the issue. The population of the area has also increased lately with more office establishments opening in the nearby areas, mainly Ambattur,” said SK Varan, a resident, pointing towards a deep trench right in front of his house. Most of the roads in the locality are ridden with potholes.
Residents say accidents have become common in the area. “Especially during lockdown, motorists would come in high speeds, topple over the potholes and ram against the wall. We have complained about it several times,” said R Vineeth from Ayanambakkam. Apart from this, there are four open potholes on Galaxy Road. Residents say the lids were broken during Nivar cyclone and never repaired after that.
The locals covered the potholes with twigs and tree branches, but they still pose a risk of fatal accidents. Another crucial issue is illumination of roads and streets. Traffic lights do not work on most of the access roads in Ayanmabakkam.
“Because of this, cabs do not accept rides after nightfall. There have been incidents of women getting groped on these streets in the dark. There are no surveillance cameras either. This issue must be solved at the earliest to avoid further mishaps,” said L Sravani, another resident. When contacted, an official concerned said the roads would be laid in the coming weeks and the issue of illumination would be addressed soon after.