TIRUCHY: Complaining that a three-kilometre stretch of a road connecting Pulivalam and Mukkombu on the Tiruchy-Karur national highway has not been maintained for more than two decades, residents of Kodiyalam panchayat urge the state highways department to undertake its immediate repair.
On the road that is accessed by residents of villages like Pulivalam and Subburayanpatti as well as Ayyilappettai and Koppu of the neighbouring panchayat, Ayalai Siva Suriyan, a local and farmer leader, said, "It has been more than two decades since the road has been repaired. This route that deviates from Kodiyalam to connect with Mukkombu on Tiruchy-Karur NH is a major alternate route to reach Mukkombu from the city. It is also the lone route for some villages to reach Jeeyapuram and Mukkombu."
"There are three issues with the road: one, it is too narrow, around three feet wide, that if a bus comes another vehicle cannot pass through. Second, the road is ridden with stones and potholes, leading to accidents. Further, as one side of the road is lined with farmlands and another with irrigation canals there is no safety for vehicles passing through without a retaining wall," he added.
He mentions having submitted several petitions on the issue with the Collectorate. Residents S Sakthivel and P Pannerselvam said several minor accidents occur on the road almost every day. They also said school buses and others taking the route travel in fear.
When a vehicle approaches in the opposite direction one of them has to reverse. If not the road can get jammed in a matter of minutes, they added. When contacted, a district-level official from the state highways department promised to look into the issue.