The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Transport chaos `due to lack of planning'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Aug 20, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Transport chaos `due to lack of planning'

Staff Reporter

World-class roads possible `if people are willing to part with land' The Government would soon come out with a special purpose vehicle to facilitate the 67-km outer ring road (ORR), says Ms. Jayanthi

CHENNAI: Planners, academicians and students, who came together on Friday for a two-day seminar on `Transportation in Chennai - Challenges and Solutions,' at Anna University, identified the increasing population and rising number of private vehicles as the main challenges.

"Lack of planning has led to today's transportation chaos," said Anna University vice-chancellor D. Viswanathan in his presidential address. He suggested that a transport network be put in place before setting up satellite townships and industrial parks.

Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority vice-chairperson Jayanthi released the inaugural souvenir and highlighted the urban body's plans for the city. "A comprehensive Traffic and Transportation Study for Chennai Metropolitan Area was first done in 1993 and it has been updated in 2004," she said.

Many suggestions in the CTTS have found its way into the transportation component of the recently signed the Tamil Nadu Urban Development Project III with World Bank. "A sum of $150 million has been earmarked to upgrade the roads in the outer Metropolitan area," added Ms. Jayanthi.

CMDA's ongoing projects for the city include the Mass Rapid Transit System phase II and the outer ring road from Vandalur to Minjur.

Ms. Jayanthi said the Government would soon come out with a special purpose vehicle to facilitate the 67-km outer ring road (ORR).

P. Ramamohana Rao, Secretary, Highways Separtment, said Chennai had "sufficient space" to build world-class roads.

However, few were willing to part with land. "We faced innumerable problems when we started work on the IT Express Highway as well as expansion of Sardar Patel Road," he said.

Seminars

Mr. Rao said seminars would help create awareness about the need to be flexible when it comes to projects but also prompt academicians to formulate plans that are practical.

The Dean of Guindy Engineering College R. Ramaprabhu, president of Anna University's Alumni Association P. Ramaswamy and secretary M.Sekar also took part in the discussions.

The seminar, organised by the Alumni Association, Metropolitan Transport Corporation and CMDA, also featured an exhibition consisting 22 stalls put up by various private and public players in the field of automobiles and transportation solutions.

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