The Hindu    05.09.2012

Underground drainage works hit traffic flow

V.S. Palaniappan

Laborious task:Workers laying pre stressed concrete pipes on Puliakulam
Road in the city as part of the Under Ground Drainage scheme and (right)
a traffic snarl on one side of the road.- PHOTOS: S. SIVA SARAVANAN 

The ongoing works for laying Under Ground Drainage (UGD)
pipelines from Lakshmi Mills Junction to Nanjundapuram Road Sewage
Treatment plant site for a little over 3.6 km is throwing traffic out of
gear.

Chaotic traffic scenes on both stretches of
the road only reiterate the need for efforts on the part of the
Corporation for being a little friendlier towards the motorists and
residents and also the need for two or three policemen in both the
stretches to regulate the flow of vehicles to avoid chaos and heated
exchanges among motorists over right of way.

The
Corporation has embarked on the work for constructing manholes for every
30 m and for laying one-metre diameter Pre Stressed Concrete (PSC)
pipes for carrying the sewage from the city to the treatment plant site
at almost the tail end of Nanjundapuram Road.

Chambers

At
present, one side of the road has been taken up for digging and laying
pipelines besides construction of manhole chambers at every 30 meters.

The remaining side of the road, measuring 30 to 35 ft in width has to accommodate traffic both ways.At
some places, the contractor carrying out the underground drainage work
for the Corporation has placed the PSC pipes occupying some motorable
space.

In the absence of these pipes, the motorist
would find it easy to steer towards the extreme end of the road to give
way to an oncoming heavy vehicle such as truck or bus.In
the absence of the space, traffic snarls are becoming the order of the
day, especially during peak hours, says C.G. Kumar, a lawyer residing on
Nanjundapuram Road.

Understanding the need for
taking up such infrastructure-related works and the related
inconvenience, Mr. Kumar pointed out that the authorities could plan
slightly better.

The work could be turned a little
friendlier for the motorist by slightly pushing the alignment of the
underground drainage line to the left side of the road, so that there
would be some space on the other side for accommodating traffic in
either direction.

Absence of street lights and poor
lighting on Nanjundapuram Road accompanied by absence of caution signs
in the form of barricading or retro reflective tapes was adding to the
woes.

First-time users of the stretch are facing the risk of meeting with an accident, he added.Puliakulam
Road from Vinayakar Temple to Kidney Centre, where the work has just
begun, was witnessing chaotic traffic during peak hours as just one side
of the road alone was available for movement of vehicles.

Diversion

There
is scope for diverting the traffic on this stretch through other
parallel roads, for all except those who want to reach specific places
on this stretch, says Saravanan residing on the Red Fields Road.

On the other hand, Nanjundapuram Road residents are left with no other option but to wade through the chaotic traffic.

Mr.
Kumar added that the civic body should find ways and means to reduce
the inconvenience caused and get the assistance of the city police to
regulate the flow of traffic in stretches where the work has commenced.

In
fact, more than 200 landline telephone numbers of the Bharat Sanchar
Nigam Limited (BSNL) in Nanjundapuram Road area were reportedly not
working for the last four days.

Inquiries revealed
that the digging had resulted in snapping of cables and the BSNL
authorities were working since Monday to restore these telephones.