RTI activist opens up closed road in Chennai

Chennai: It took more than a month for an RTI petitioner to open up a public road closed by Chennai city police in posh Abhiramapuram. Irked over the closure of a road leading to De Monte colony that became popular in May following the release of a horror movie, Demonte Colony, the activist filed a complaint to get the barricades removed.

The movie, released in mid-April, showed that De monte Colony has a stretch haunted by ghosts. Curious movie-goers thronged the place leading to huge crowds in the area.

“A road is a public property and cannot be closed as per the whims of authorities,” said research scholar and RTI activist R. Natarajan who filed his complaint on June 12.

Following the release of the movie Demonte Colony in mid-April, police barricaded the road following requests by local residents, a local police source said.

“It is the primary duty of the police to provide security to regulate visitors thronging the place causing inconvenience. Rather than providing security, cordoning off a public road is against the law of the land,” said Natarajan.

He first filed a complaint at the local police station. He then approached the Chennai corporation authorities, the custodian of the road, urging them to remove the barricade.

Lack of adequate streetlights and the indiscriminate dumping of debris added to the gloomy mood of Demonte colony and park. Corporation should put up more lights and improve sanitation, said S. Kasi, a local resident of Abhiramapuram.

A corporation official said the road was barricaded by the police and the civic body was not kept in the loop.

“However, we have removed the barricades and the road is now open to public,” the official said.