The Hindu              28.10.2013

Road gets quick facelift

Residents of Srinivasapuram in Thiruvanmiyur have for
long complained about bad roads in the locality. But on Sunday, they
were surprised to see the Chennai Corporation quickly patch up the
stretch and wondered if VIP movement in the area was the reason.

“Though
hundreds of vehicles pass through it, that portion of road has been in
bad shape for many years now and nobody has attended to it. All of a
sudden, it was attended to today,” said a resident, who did not want to
be named.

Residents suspect that it could be because
of the death of a relative of an MLA in the locality, following which
several VIPs were expected to visit the stretch. Chennai Corporation
officials though have denied it.

“On Saturday evening
they cleaned the stretch and dumped the materials and on Sunday
morning, the patchwork was done,” a resident said.

“But
the repair will not last long as it has already begun raining. The
nearby 1st street, Srinivasapuram was re-laid recently, but is already
in a sorry state,” he added.

An official at Chennai
Corporation said that the repair work had nothing to with the MLA’s
relative’s death. “During the rains, we have directed the respective
zonal officials to take up patchwork wherever necessary,” he clarified.
“For us, every citizen is a VIP.”