Potholes and slush on roads make life miserable for residents of Muthupatti and TVS Nagar

Most of the roads leading to Muthupatti and TVS Nagar from the Alagappa Nagar railway gate remains in this state.
| Photo Credit: G. MOORTHY

The junction connecting Tirupparankundram Road with the road leading to Muthupatti near Alagappa Nagar railway gate is always chaotic. Vehicles endlessly wait on either side of the railway gate on the busy Madurai -Virudhunagar section.  But, once the vehicles cross the manned railway gate, more travails are waiting for the vehicle users.

After the recent rains, rainwater has inundated huge potholes on the roads leading to Muthupatti and TVS Nagar. Motorists, while negotiating them, either veer around them or go dead slow, leading to piling up of vehicles near the railway gate.

V. P. Manikandan, who regularly uses the road, says that if the potholes are small, people would not mind passing them at a normal speed, but these are huge and everyone is cautious and tries to avoid them.  

The rains have made things worse as the rainwater has filled all the potholes and now the people do not know where they are exactly and are caught unawares when potholes lie hidden under a sheet of water.  At least during rainy season, roads such as these must be repaired to prevent accidents, he says.

TVS Nagar is one of the most affected residential areas in the southern parts of the city. Roads are dug up here, there and everywhere. Most of the roads are slushy and difficult to ride on for vehicle uers. Raja S. Srinivasan, former AIADMK councillor, speaking of the bad condition of roads in Santhanam Road, Rajam Road, Nehru Colony and Bharathiyar Nagar, said that due to laying of underground drainage (UGD) lines, and because of the execution of Mullaperiyar drinking water project, most of the roads were dug and remain in a damaged condition.

C. Murali of TVS Nagar Residents’ Welfare Association, said that paver blocks were laid on most of the roads after the competition of the drinking water project. But they were not properly laid due to which the road surface is uneven. When rainwater gets stagnant, it widens the gaps between the paver blocks and a dent forms on the road,” he said.

K.K. Bose, ward 73 councillor, said that all roads expect those in Bharathiyar Nagar and a part of Santhanam Road had been relaid. As funds have not been sanctioned, the work has not been taken up on the remaining part of Santhanam Road. And since Bharathiyar Nagar lies in an area annexed to the Corporation, funds are awaited for all development projects, he said.

Corporation officials say they laid the roads recently, but due to underground drainage and drinking water supply works, they had been damaged. Once the rains are over, all these roads will be relaid.

But the residents want the civic authorities to fill the potholes on a war-footing. When the authorities repaired some of the arterial roads ahead of the Chief Minister’s visit on October 29, what prevents them from showing the same urgency in repairing other roads in the city, they say.