TIRUCHY: The pace of the underground drainage (UGD) project taken up under the Smart Cities
Mission scheme here has turned nothing short of a nightmare for commuters who complain of the work having rendered many of the roads, including the arterial ones, inaccessible.
While phase 3 of the project commenced in 2020, UGD installation was interrupted by the Covid-19 induced lockdowns. It hardly seems to have regained pace as many a commuter point to work left incomplete in several places, making the roads dug up to remain so.
This has not spared roads in prime localities, like in Thillai Nagar that houses several hospitals, either, as commuters complain of difficulties in even accessing the healthcare institutions owing to their vehicles getting stuck en route. It is no longer uncommon to see ailing visitors being made to walk to the hospital by staff after the roads make such institutions inaccessible.
D Kannadhasan of Ariyalur said, "I bring my elderly father to Thillai Nagar by car for medical check-up every month. Many roads in the locality are now dug up, thus blocking the way. There are no warning signs or barricades at the street entrance either. Thus after entering a street I got stuck and had to reverse, which was not easy as many vehicles lined up behind."
Motorists, too, complain of a similar plight. K Ashok, a motorist using the Tennur Road, said, "Whenever I use the road, I fear of falling off the bike; when having a pillion rider it becomes even more dangerous. This is all because the labourers do not close the road properly after finishing work."
An autorickshaw driver at Kalyana Sundaram Street in Karumandapam said his vehicle suffered damage more than five times in the past month owing to the impact from driving through the damaged roads. "Many roads are exposed with gravel and stones, which damage the tyre. This has cost me a lot," he added.
A 65-year-old resident of Ward 55 stressed that he avoided going outdoors as he was finding it difficult to balance his vehicle.
Pointing to how incomplete UGD work is delaying the laying of roads, ward councillor V Ramadoss said, "When I enquired about the incomplete work with the contractors, they cited insufficient labour as the cause." With funds allocated and contracts signed, how can they say so, he asked.
When contacted, Corporation Commissioner R Vaithinathan told TNIE, "This month we have planned to complete 110 road works and we have also instructed the contractors to finish work at one place before moving to another place to dig."