Chennai: Battered road irks Anna Nagar residents

CHENNAI: It's been more than three months since the junction connecting the fourth and fifth main road in Anna Nagar has been lying battered. Residents in the area said that the road was dug up to repair the metro water line, but since then has been lying open and people now dump wastes and garbage on it.
"The garbage keeps piling every day, and has become a breeding ground for rats and mosquitoes," said Satyan Bhatt, a resident of V Block in Anna Nagar.He said that there are few banks and grocery stores opposite to it, making it difficult for people to walk by.
Residents complained that accidents have also been taking place on the junction, because of the battered stretch. The fourth main road links to the road leading to Ambattur and is frequented by motorists. But since the battered part covers almost half the road motorists find it hard to keep to the left and often skid and fall.
"We have seen a few incidents ourselves. It would be helpful if they repair it soon because many have started going to work and they use this stretch," said Satyan.
It is not only the dugout roads, but residents in the area also complained that since the lockdown was imposed the local authorities have not taken any measures to either repair the road or clear the garbage that has been piling up in several pockets of the locality.
"Every time we tried to contact the local authorities, they made an excuse saying that they were busy with COVID-19 relief work and were running short of staff," said Triveni Lakshman, another resident.
"But now that people are back to work, I don't understand why they are not taking any measures to fix these things," she said.