COIMBATORE: Social activist and road safety committee member K Kathirmathiyon has raised serious concerns over the manner in which stormwater drains are being built along Sathyamangalam Road in Coimbatore, alleging technical lapses and deviation from established norms by the national highways wing of the state highways department.
Kathirmathiyon, who is also the secretary of Coimbatore Consumer Cause, has written to the regional officer of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) and the Divisional Engineer of National Highways, Coimbatore, objecting to the alignment of the stormwater drain works along NH 948. He pointed out that the drains are being built at the edge of the existing carriageway instead of the extreme end of the National Highway Right of Way (RoW), which is the prescribed practice.
The Centre had sanctioned Rs 44 crore on January 20, 2025, for widening a 4-km stretch of Sathy Road from the Textool bridge to the Saravanampatti junction, along with the construction of stormwater drains. While more than three kilometres of this stretch have already functioned as a four-lane road for several years, the remaining one-kilometre stretch between Textool and Surya Hospital continues to be a two-lane road and is yet to be widened, despite the project getting approval over a year ago.
In his letter, Kathirmathiyon expressed concern that no information boards detailing the project scope, cost, executing agency, or timeline have been installed, calling it a basic requirement for public infrastructure projects. He noted that only about 100m of stormwater drain work has been taken up so far, and that too along an already wide four-lane section, while the critical two-lane stretch remains untouched.
Seeking immediate corrective action, Kathirmathiyon urged the authorities to halt the ongoing drain works, conduct a proper RoW survey, realign the drains as per norms, commence the pending four-laning works, and ensure transparency by installing project information boards along the stretch.
When inquired, highways department officials revealed that they would be installing barricades after the stormwater drains and pave a service road next to the main carriageway to ease vehicle movement and prevent encroachments in the future.