Congestion, unauthorised parking irk commuters in and around Mylapore

For 20-year-old P. Ashwini, a resident of Slaterpuram in Mylapore, walking or taking small rides to buy groceries or vegetables has become quite taxing. “The drive through the stretch of Mundakanni Amman Koil Street and Kalvi Varu Street is certainly an exhausting one,” she said.

While Chennai Metro Rail’s Phase II project has marred several areas of the city with diversions and congestion, roads in and around Mylapore are particularly bad.

To construct an expansive underground station ‘Thirumayilai’ for corridor 4 of the Phase II project, diversions came into effect sometime back. As a result, a huge chunk of the traffic from Luz proceeding to Mylapore Tank is now diverted via Mundakanni Amman Koil Street and Kalvi Varu Street.

Ms. Ashwini said, “I take my vehicle for half the distance, park it in a corner and then walk down to the nearby shop. Otherwise, I have to spend on petrol and drive around for nearly a kilometre in the traffic during peak hours.”

‘Too many potholes’

Kalvi Varu Street has been in a poor shape for a while now with too many potholes. Commuters say it is a bumpy ride and get choked during the office hours and school timings. Though the road was milled sometime back, it is yet to be re-laid.

Fredrick Gnanamritharaj, a resident of North Subburayan Street, said since the diversion had been done for Chennai Metro Rail work, the authorities should check from time to time, coordinate with other departments and relay the damaged roads near the construction site.

They should have better traffic management and bring in more traffic marshals too.

“Vehicle suffers the maximum impact when we drive through bad roads. While driving through Kalvi Varu Street through the congestion, I’m quite scared and afraid when I would trip and fall,” he added.

No space to walk

Narayanan, another commuter, said: “There is barely any space to walk through the Mundakanni Amman Koil Street. The Kalvi Varu Street has unauthorised parking too. When parents come to drop off and pick up children, there is a choc-a-bloc in Kalvi Varu Street.”

An official of Greater Chennai Corporation said that while there was a slight delay, the work would be taken up immediately.

“We are planning to relay the Kalvi Varu Street this week,” official added.

Published - October 08, 2024 11:04 pm IST