VELLORE: Residents of Rangapuram were forced to breathe dusty air for nearly two months due to the gravel that was spread over a 1.5-kilometer section of Mulakollai Road. Due to this, hundreds of families residing in nearby areas, including Jagajothi Nagar and Chenganattam Hills, are struggling to use the road for their work.
Speaking to TNIE, A Damodaran said there has been no proper road in the area for the past ten years. “Stormwater drain work has been going on for more than four months now. Workers from the corporation say they will lay the road once the stormwater drain work is complete. In the meantime, we struggle to walk, and vehicles, especially two-wheelers, are at high risk of skidding on the gravel. Even when we walk, dust fills the entire area as lorries and other heavy vehicles pass through the stretch frequently. It becomes difficult to walk,” he said.
He added that residents of Chenganattam and the nearby hill villages frequently use the road to commute for daily wage work. K Chitra, another resident, questioned why the civic body started the road construction and then left it half-finished, causing hardship for residents. “If they had to finish the stormwater drain work first, they should not have spread the gravel,” she said.
Speaking to TNIE, a Vellore Corporation official from Zone 2 said that funds were allocated for drinking water works in the area after the road construction work began, so it had to be left halfway. “A 25-litre water sump is being constructed. Also, there were houses that had not connected drainage connections to the underground drainage. Besides, there are leakages in the Amrut water pipelines. All these need to be addressed before the road is relaid so there is no frequent digging.”
He added that he would ask workers to smoothen the area and pour water on the road to address the issues of residents temporarily.