COIMBATORE: The Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) is facing sharp criticism from residents and motorists for its repeated digging and poor planning of civic infrastructure projects along the Trichy Road, a key national highway stretch in the city.
Just a few months ago, the entire stretch of Trichy Road was dug up to construct a stormwater drain connecting the Valankulam water body to the Sanganoor Canal near Singanallur Lake. After weeks of disruption, the damaged stretch was finally resurfaced with a new tar layer.
However, to the shock of commuters and locals, the same stretch is now being dug up once again - this time to lay pipelines under the 24x7 drinking water supply project implemented by the private firm Suez.
Social activists have called out the lack of coordination among civic departments, while the public are upset. "We struggle every day in traffic, breathing dust and manoeuvring through half-dug roads. Why didn't they lay the water lines before relaying the road?" questioned S Paramesh, a daily commuter and resident of Ramanathapuram.
Motorists, too, are bearing the brunt of the repeated digging. "This is a clear case of negligence. It's like they are playing with public money and our patience. The Corporation must be held accountable for wasting resources and causing unnecessary hardships to the public. There is absolutely no excuse for this kind of mismanagement," said K Nithya, a two-wheeler rider who uses the Trichy Road for her daily commute.
Residents are now demanding immediate road restoration and a halt to such uncoordinated planning in the future. As complaints grow louder, the CCMC is under pressure to explain its approach and ensure such issues do not recur.
When enquired about it, a senior official of the CCMC blamed the Suez firm for a lack of cooperation and causing hardships for both the public as well as the civic body. The official also added that the work would be completed in the next few days.
Earlier, the highways department, which has been carrying out the elevated flyover project on the Avinashi Road, also expressed their frustration after the civic body and the Suez firm requested permission to dig up the freshly paved Avinashi Road for the pipeline installation works.