Gandhi Main Road at Velachery was a calm residential locality a few years ago. In fact, a portion of a wide stretch of the road was used mostly for public meetings and temple functions in the evening.
But the creation of an access road from Velachery Main Road to the Taramani Link Road through Gandhi Main Road has resulted in heavy traffic congestion. The road has also become a commercial street.
Today, chaos reigns as the road margins have been encroached upon by shops, parked vehicles, and roadside vendors. Motorists proceeding to the Information Technology Corridor through Velachery Main Road from Guindy and Saidapet use the Gandhi Main Road, instead of the Velachery Bypass Road, as it is the shortest route to the Taramani Link Road.
However, motorists find it difficult to access Gandhi Main Road because of the heavy traffic and the narrow width at the Velachery Main Road junction, parking of vehicles on both sides of the road, and the poor condition of the road which has been dug up at various places.
Bus service halted
T. Amalraj, a resident of Seva Nagar, says that the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) had operated a bus at morning and evening office hours from Gandhi Main Road to Broadway. But the service was stopped, what with heavy traffic congestion and the width of the road shrunken by the parking of vehicles.
He says the commercialisation of Gandhi Main Road has caused difficulties to residents of Seva Nagar and of several interior streets of Ayodhya Colony. The front portion of most of the houses has been let out for shops, leading to unauthorised parking of vehicles.
The condition of the road, which also leads to the Velachery tahsildar office and the Greater Chennai Corporation’s Primary Health Centre, has become bad after it was dug up for Metro Water work and because of water stagnation during the monsoon.
D. Udayanidhi, a resident of Ayodhya Colony, says the junction of Gandhi Main Road and Velachery Main Road is congested as motorists try to go in all directions.
Drive against encroachments
A senior official of the Greater Chennai Corporation’s Adyar Zone says encroachments are being removed regularly in coordination with the Greater Chennai Traffic Police. As for the poor condition of the road due to the work on the underground drainage project, the official says pipes have been installed, and the road will be paved soon.
Published - July 21, 2024 10:31 pm IST
