COIMBATORE: Road damaged by the prolonged underground drainage (UGD) construction work out by the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation, combined with rash driving by a tipper lorry, resulted in the death of two friends, who met after a long time, at Ramanathapuram junction on Thursday.
The deceased were identified as VP Selvaraj (59) from Maruthur and Victor (58), a wall painter from Sadayappa Thedar Street, both from Ramanathapuram.
On Thursday morning, the two decided to celebrate their friendship and took a bike ride, but it ended in tragedy as Selvaraj lost control and the vehicle slid due to loose gravel while taking a left turn at the Ramanathapuram junction, which was dug up for UGD work and not closed properly. The two were run over by a speeding tipper lorry.
Police sent the bodies to CMCH for post-mortem examination. The Traffic Investigation Wing (TIW-East) police arrested the lorry driver, Krishnamurthy (24) from Ondipudur, for negligent and rash driving.
In the evening, officials from the police department, corporation, highways, and transport department conducted a joint inspection of the site for taking road safety measures.
The UGD work, which is under way for over three months, has caused severe traffic congestion at the junction. Frequent diversions and bad road conditions have made commuting through the junction challenging for motorists.
According to police reports, in the last two months alone, three major accidents, including Thursday’s incident and more than six minor accidents have been recorded at the junction, resulting in four fatalities.
The Ramanathapuram junction serves as a major intersection for Tiruchi Road, Pankaja Mill Road, and Nanjundapuram Road.
The issue was raised by reporters with Minister Senthil Balaji during his visit to the city on Wednesday, and he assured that the UGD work would be completed swiftly. District collector Kranthi Kumar Pati on Thursday inspected the spot.
Corporation Commissioner M Sivaguru Prabhakaran told TNIE “The UGD pipeline runs just beneath a newly-installed storm water drain were broken and the work to construct a new pipeline is underway. As the area is covered with rock, the work takes time and we are conscious to complete the work within a week.”