CHENNAI: Rains are back, at least for the moment, and so are the potholed roads with yawning gaps. This is giving anxious moments to the motorists in the city. The roads at Ambattur are no better and despite a lot of accidents every year, the potholed Chennai Tiruvallur High (CTH) Road and Ambattur Third Main Road continue to be neglected, allege residents.
According to Union Transport Ministry’s records, as many as 166 deaths occurred in the 755 accidents that took place between 2017 and 2020 on CTH Road near Ambattur telephone exchange. The reasons were mostly attributed to non-functional traffic signals, inadequate street lights and most importantly, bad roads.
When Express visited the road on Sunday, the picture was of utter civic neglect. Amid ankle deep potholes filled with rain water, motorists were almost bumping into one another trying to avoid the ‘death trap’. Since the road connects highway, high speeding vehicles ply along the stretch.
“Since it is an industrial estate, heavy vehicles are a common sight. Most accidents that occur are of motorists ramming lorries because of losing control and tripping over the potholes. This problem has not been addressed at least for a decade,” said H Manoj, a resident of the area.
At least twice a year, the potholes are patched up with cement. However, residents and motorists say, the road was not even once milled completely and relaid. “Due to poor lighting, pedestrians are forced to avoid the stretch. The stretch also does not have a proper median, let alone a footpath. Rains have made the situation worse. Once can never assess how deep the potholes are,” said K Bala, another resident.
When contacted, a zonal official said they would ‘patch up’ the road once rains stop.