Daily commute on Nookampalayam Link Road a headache for motorists

Nookampalayam Link Road, stretching from the Semmancheri Tsunami quarters to Sholinganallur on Rajiv Gandhi Salai, is in a mess. Road users say the stretch has been in this condition for over a year, with stormwater drain (SWD) work in progress.

G. Premnath, a reisdent of the area, said that when he moved to the locality in 2018, “the road was very good.” He added: “Chennai Metrowater carried out some work first. After it was completed, the road was patched up very badly in June, covering all the chutes leading to the drain. One can see the iron bars peeking from under the concrete. Now, a stormwater drain is being constructed, and the sewer line is only half done. For the past three years, we have inhaled a lot of dust. If we complain to local officials, we just get yelled at.”

A.R. Srinivasan, a resident, said that due to the drain project, when a bus or a truck approaches from the opposite side, vehicles proceeding in the other direction get stuck. “Getting stuck on this four-lane road is almost a daily headache. I have approached every possible agency but have not been able to find out when the construction will be completed. It has been progressing very slowly. We don’t have access to our bank or the local hospital because of this work,” he said.

“The road surface has also been damaged at several spots in the recent rains. Sometimes, I prefer to travel an additional 6 km just to avoid this road. But not everyone can afford to do that,” he rued. The road has been experiencing increased traffic, with more buses now operating from Semmancheri and Perumbakkam.

“They keep changing the positions of the barricades, which leaves motorists unsure where to turn to the other side. It can take anywhere from 10 to 45 minutes to cross the road, which is only about 3 km long. Since some stretches have only one lane available, schoolchildren get stuck and end up going to school late. This important road is in very bad shape,” said Lakshmi, a parent of a child studying at a nearby school.

FOMRRA co-founder Harsha Koda recalled that the road had been in good condition for several years and said that these works could have been taken up before it was converted into a cement concrete road. He added that this development is a typical example of the “left hand not talking to the right hand” in government. “Imagine how much better our lives would be if we had a city planner who could do things in the right chronological order,” he said.

Sources in the Greater Chennai Corporation said that the project period was a year and a half, and that repairs would be taken up soon.