The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Highways clear accumulated sand on GST Road

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Feb 16, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Others

Highways clear accumulated sand on GST Road

By Our Staff Reporter

TAMBARAM, FEB. 15. A human chain by a residents' welfare association of Chromepet urging the authorities to clear accumulated sand on the Grand Southern Trunk has borne fruit..

Workers contracted by the Highways department were seen clearing the sand on the GST Road which had taken up at least 10 feet of the carriageway. Though the Pallavaram Municipality swung into action and did its share of the work, the local body was unable to carry out the operation on the entire stretch.

The president of the New Colony Residents Welfare Association, V. Santhanam, lauded the local body for removing the sand from the road on a "humanitarian basis" though the task was not within its purview. He said the State Highways department had to take responsibility for the condition of the road as it was maintaining the national highway.

He said the National Highways Authority of India could consider handing over the maintenance of the GST Road to the respective local bodies. "If we have any grievance regarding the national highways, whom do we turn to? The officers and authorities are not easily accessible,'' he charged. "When local bodies can look after maintenance of streetlights, why can't they maintain a few km of the national highway?" he asked. If not, the Highways department should have an office that is easily accessible to people in the southern suburbs and appoint a team of officers to look after safety and ensure quality standards, he said.

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