Chennai: Dug-up roads, stray dogs, low-lying cables and drain overflows have shaped Thoraipakkam’s Annai Indira Nagar — a residential locality on Old Mahabalipuram Road housing around a 1,000 homes and paying guest (PG) accommodations — for several years now.Reason: While stormwater drain-linking and underground drain works were carried out in the past two years, there was hardly any patchwork or road-relaying work done, and dug up parts of roads lie uncovered and without barricades. At a few intersections, two-wheelers and pedestrians hardly have space to move.“During monsoon, people falling off their bikes is a common sight. While stormwater drain-linking has been completed, the underground drain works are incomplete. Officials are yet to link manholes, so we still rely on septic tanks which overflow at several PGs,” N Monishankar, 26, a resident.Stray dogs are another menace. “At night, it turns into a gang war — no one can enter or leave the area in peace. This area has several PGs that house IT employees who get dropped off by cabs at night. It gets extremely unsafe for them,” Karthikeyan Krishnamoorthy, former secretary of the area’s residents’ welfare association, said, adding that the residents are yet to get piped water supply despite paying water tax.When asked, officials from the zonal office said that work to bring in underground drainage and link the stormwater drain was paused due to elections earlier this year, but has almost been completed.Regional deputy commissioner (south) Aftab Rasool said the area was currently under phase-3 work involving Metrowater and the GCC. “The work will be expedited before the monsoon, and roads will be laid. As for stray dogs, we are bringing up more animal birth control centres in the area,” he added.
