Residents of Perumbakkam in Chennai have flagged safety concerns and traffic congestion on the Saraswathi Rajasekaran Salai, commonly known as the Global Hospital road, in Cheran Nagar after a young girl met with an accident and sustained injuries on Friday, September 22. The youngster had fractured a chip on her shoulder and required six stitches on her chin. According to residents, the road was damaged after cable laying works by the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO)  began in June, leaving multiple steep pits that have collected water due to frequent rain showers this month. While residents have appealed to the respective district authorities and Panchayat officials, they have received no aid.

The Saraswathi Rajasekaran Road houses an apartment complex where 500 families reside, three schools and the Global Hospital. Savitha, a resident, told TNM, “It took me 45 minutes to navigate through that road and reach the main road that connects Sholinganallur and Medavakkam. In September, a couple of domestic workers who were travelling to our apartment complex met with an accident on the road and were taken to the hospital. They thankfully escaped with minor injuries,” she added.  She said that children who commute to the three schools, including an international school, are unable to walk or commute through cycles because of safety concerns. “This is also the only road that ambulances from the Global Hospital can use. During school hours, traffic snarls pose a major issue to the ambulances,” Savitha told TNM.

According to residents, the TANGEDCO work began in June and due to occasional rains their work was stalled. Although they completed the cable laying work by July it has made the road uneven. “Some parts of the road that were dug up by TANGEDCO have not been properly or fully closed posing danger to commuters,” Savitha pointed out. Januma Rani, another resident, added, “After we raised initial complaints about the road to the Panchayat, they arranged for mud to be poured on to make up for the steep pits. But the mud washed away after it rained and it resulted in slushy roads.” In the apartment’s WhatsApp groups, there have also been messages about water being allegedly pumped out into this road by the Global Hospital after a spell of heavy rains on September 21.

SJ Bharat Srinivas, the secretary of the apartment complex, also said that heavy construction vehicles are also crossing the road frequently since a private builder’s project is coming up on the same road.“We appealed to the MLA in July, raised this issue through the Chief Minister’s cell and we have also spoken to the Panchayat officials multiple times. The Panchayat doesn’t have enough funds and S Aravind Ramesh, the MLA, had pointed out that the budget for this year was drafted before we submitted a request to lay this road,” Bharat added. 

When TNM contacted the DMK MLA, he said that the residents’ request for a new road has been raised with the Chengalpattu Collector for a request to lay the road before monsoon commences. “However, there hasn’t been much progress yet,” Aravind told TNM. Meanwhile, other developmental works, including the establishment of a park at the cost of Rs 7 crore on that road, have been initiated by the district officials.