Rs 5-crore project to free up pavements in T Nagar
CHENNAI: Chennaities will soon have more space to walk on pavements free of obstructions once the electrical pillar boxes and transformers are removed as part of an initiative under the Smart City project.
T Nagar has been chosen as the first area to implement this pedestrian-friendly project which will be carried out by Tangedco in collaboration with Greater Chennai Corporation at a cost of around 5 crores.
Around 40 pillar boxes and five transformers that are currently located on pavements hindering the free movement of pedestrians in interior roads of T Nagar will be relocated to nearby locations.
This initiative will be executed by Tangedco officials along with Bus Route Roads (BRR) Department of Corporation on 23 roads at T Nagar. “We will be coordinating with Tangedco officials to relocate electricity boxes only in interior roads. Pillar boxes located on main roads will be shifted by Tangedco along with the corporation,” said an official from BRR department.
Kannadasan Street, Raman Street, Jai Shankar Street, Pinchala Subramani Street, CIT Nagar Model House Road, Muthurangan Road, Sarojini Street, Jegadambal Street, and Lodhikhan 1st to 5th Streets are among the 23 interior roads where this project will be implemented. Though other areas in the city face the same problem, they have not been included in this project yet.
Similarly, a proposal for relocating pillar boxes located along footpaths at Pondy Bazaar, between Panagal Park and Anna Salai, has also been submitted to Tangedco by officials from the smart city project. “Though a proposal has been submitted for this project, no cost estimation has been given yet,” said a corporation official. Officials said they have not received any funds yet and that they can begin work only after getting the allocated funds. “We will be shifting the pillar boxes somewhere nearby. We cannot shift them too far as it will disrupt underground cables,” said a Tangedco official.