Cable work on Water Works Road irks public

Chennai: Cable laying work in Guindy Industrial Estate, which is being undertaken by the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB), has obstructed the mobility of commuters and affected business of peddlers for the past few weeks.

“Digging in the area has narrowed down the space for the movement of vehicles on the road and so traffic on the left (which leads to the Olympia junction) is displaced to the middle of the road,” said Suresh a commuter, adding that it causes heavy traffic snarls in peak hours.

Pedestrians said that they had to walk in close proximity to the traffic due to demolishment of the pavement and feel intimidated by autos and buses which are driven rashly beside them.

“As there are no barriers put up, we are scared that we will fall into the pit dug for the work, owing to zooming vehicles on the narrow road,” said one of them.

The area, which was bustling with food carts earlier, now looks deserted. The digging is a hindrance to most peddlers as they are unable to continue their food stalls on the road. A tender coconut vendor said “The congestion created by cable laying work is causing difficulty as I cannot place my stall at the same place every day. This has affected my earnings drastically as regular customers have no clue where the stall is.”

K. Munnisami a passerby who works at one of the offices at the estate said. “Makeshift shops sell food at a considerably lesser price and now we are forced to spend extra money on our meals.”

When contacted, a TNEB official said that the work was being done to connect DLF at Porur and would take a couple of months to finish.