Travelling on this roads an ordeal!

CHENNAI: Travelling towards the Bypass Road (Netaji Circle) through the Madhavaram High Road is an ordeal which many commuters face. The worst affected are the residents of the area, who have no other option but to use the road which links them to the rest of the city.Although the plight of these road users has been highlighted time and again, no action has been taken as yet. With Madhavaram now coming under the Corporation of Chennai, residents are hopeful that the state of things will improve.Kannan, a resident of the area, who travels to Perambur every day, says, “This is the only route we can take. Travelling by bike on this stretch takes much longer than it has to. This would not be the case if the road actually existed.” He also says that the impact of constantly riding on a pothole-ridden road was showing on his two-wheeler. The experience, he claims, has caused him back problems and severe pain in the hand.Those travelling beyond Madhavaram, near Moolakadai junction, complain that more than half the road is missing, and in its place are huge craters. When the City Express team visited the area, it observed the rubble and gravel had been used to fill up some potholes, but it had only worsened the condition. The situation becomes worse when there is a downpour. Savithri, a resident of Madhavaram who drops her children off at school every day, says, “It is doubly dangerous when there is water stagnating everywhere. We do not know how deep the rut is. My kids’ school is not far from our house but I am afraid to send them by cycle. Due to the bad condition of the road, driving is erratic.” She says she cannot risk her children’s safety.Congress Councillor for the area, Venkatesan, says that for the past six to seven months, work on the drainage system has been in progress. Before that, he claims that Metro water work was being done, and hence, the bad condition of the road. “We did not have any funds to lay the road,” he says. “Now that we are coming under the Corporation, we hope to solve this problem once and for all,” says Venkatesan.