Chennai: Can anything good come out of a lockdown? Well, for residents of Velacheri and surrounding areas there are some good things happening with regard to civic infrastructure.
With traffic and pedestrians being kept off the roads, the authorities took it upon themselves to finish projects which had been long pending.
Currently, three major projects are being completed. One is the famous twin flyovers which was long overdue for the public, next being an overbridge at Station Road at Taramani and lastly as a major relief for residents the EB lines are laid underground.
It had been three and a half years since the construction of the twin flyovers at Velacheri began and commuters had been facing multiple hurdles while commuting on this route. In between, work was suspended for months together leaving commuters in a lurch.
There were allegations that the five departments involved in the project refused to work together. The land owners, shop owners and encroachers refused to give up the land for the bridge work resulting in long court battles.
However, construction picked up pace during the lockdown period. A few weeks ago, the Highways department removed encroachments from a stretch, that is, nearly 20 shops.
Kumararaja, a social activist from Velacheri said, “Residents consider these development works as lockdown gifts. All the departments: Highways, Electricity board, Corporation, CMWSSB and Police came together and made progress. It is expected to wind up in December.”
The laying of cable underground is the most welcome move this year. Residents here have faced power outage for eight to 12 hours at a stretch, sometimes for days.
The work is taking place in wards: 177, 178, 179 and 180.
After the cables are laid, residents will not be facing frequent power disruption, especially during monsoons and during cyclones. Earlier trees were pruned so that they would not fall on the EB lines. The trees were not allowed to grow, residents say.
At the same time, residents insist that after the cables are laid the road be re-laid.
Another project residents are looking forward to completion is the overbridge work connecting the railways station of Velacheri and Taramani.
This will not only reduce traffic congestion on the Taramani Link Road, also facilitate water to drain into Pallikaranai marshland from under the bridge through a canal.