Residents of Mogappair West have been demanding that the open stormwater drains along the service lanes off Chennai Bypass be covered as early as possible. The open drains continue to pose a threat to motorists, they said.
National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has started ₹24.38-lakh work to cover the drains with cement slabs on a stretch of 700 metres along service lanes at Nolambur. This stretch has turned into an accident zone. A woman and her daughter died last month after the two-wheeler they were riding skidded and fell in the drain.
Poor illumination and lack of wall along the drains made it an accident zone. They demanded that the thick vegetation along the service lanes near Nolambur and Maduravoyal should be cleared. S. Swaminathan, secretary, JAMBA United Welfare Association (a federation of residents’ welfare associations of the locality), said lorries dumped sewage in the open drain rather than carrying it to the nearest sewage treatment plant.
“The authorities concerned must cover the drains on the entire stretch from Ambattur Industrial Estate to Maduravoyal to prevent accidents. The deep drains must be cleaned up and the height of walls raised by up to two or three feet. This would help drivers spot the drains from a distance,” he said.
Work in full swing
An official of the NHAI, which maintains the elevated Chennai Bypass, said work taken up on the stretch where the accident occurred was likely to be completed in two months. “We are cleaning up the drain, raising the side wall by about a foot and laying RCC to cover the top. We will provide manholes at every five metres with large covers that cannot be easily removed. The drain will be linked to the nearest culverts to discharge rainwater,” the official said.
Moreover, an estimate of ₹15.38 crore has been drawn up to cover the drain for its entire length of 32.6 km along the bypass. The work would be taken up shortly. The drains do not run to the entire length of the road, the official added.
