Chennai: Parthiban Road in Pallavaram, better known as the Cantonment Board Road, has been closed for more than three months, with residents clueless as to why it is so.
A person who runs a coffee shop near the entrance of the road, said, “We don’t know why they closed this stretch. It has been this way for many days now and we have no idea as to when it will re-open. Before this was shut, every day, a lot of people, who travel to Anakaputhur, Pozhichalur and Pammal used to go by this route. But now, these commuters have to take diversion. They have no other way, except going in the other way and reaching Pammal Road after crossing the Airport. This consumes a lot of time, especially during the mornings and evenings.”
Varun Rajeevan, a resident of the same locality, said, “It used to be easy before this. Now it takes extra effort and time to reach the GST. Office goers and school-children find it extremely difficult to connect to other roads, especially in the peak hour.”
Speaking on this, an official, on the condition of anonymity, said, “This road has been blocked for the benefit of people who travel towards city areas via GST Road from Southern Chennai. Since a bridge is being constructed in this stretch, the road has become narrow, with traffic becoming uncontrollable each day, as several heavy vehicles too use this space. As a result, people are given the option to take diversions to reach Chrompet, Pammal, Anakaputhur and Pozhichalur. There is not much difference between the time taken to reach these places via the diverted route and that taken to move inch-by-inch in heavy congestion.”