Rains plague Velachery residents

[1]

With less than a couple of months left for the monsoon, many areas in Velachery that come under Ward 177 are still unprepared to tackle the floods.

Storm water drain and road re-laying works are progressing at a snail’s pace and most streets have been left unattended, posing a serious threat to residents and road-users.

“As Velachery and West Velachery are low-lying areas, we face the same problem every year during rains. We have to wade through knee-deep water; this year too the situation will be the same,” said Chokkalingam, a resident of TNHB Colony, Velachery.

Many streets in TNHB Colony near Velachery Lake are in a pathetic state. Road re-laying work has been completed in some streets, but in others like Andal Nagar 3 rd cross street and Venkateshwara Nagar Main Road new roads are needed.

“In some streets, storm water works have been completed and road re-laying work is going on,” said Mr Suresh, a resident of Andal Nagar.

Another major problem faced by road users of Velachery 100 Feet Road, which comes under ward 177, is due to haphazard parking. As thousands of vehicle ply through this road to reach the Vijayanagar Bus Stand, traffic snarls during peak hours are very common.

“There are numerous shops on the 100 Feet Road and customers who visit these shops occupy majority of the space and it’s too congested to use the road during peak hours.”

K. Sivalingam, secretary of Mahalakshmi Nagar Civic Forum said, “Garbage clearance is one of the problems faced by residents of the 22 streets that come under the forum.”

Councillor of Ward 177, Mr S. Saravanan, said once the storm water works were complete, the roads would be re-laid.

“There are 760 streets that come under Ward 177 and road relaying works for 450 streets have been completed,” he said and added that there was a proposal to create a walkers’ pathway around the Velachery Lake which would also be developed into a tourist spot. “

Steps are also being taken to convert a vacant space behind the Velachery 100 Feet Road into a corporation school,” added Mr S. Saravanan the councillor.
uma.kannan@deccanmail.com [2]