Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore   

Poor shape of Vilankurich Road torments residents, motorists

K. V. Prasad

At some spots the road has sunk, leaving large pits that get filled with rainwater

COIMBATORE: Vilankurichi Road that connects Avanashi Road with the panchayat of Vilankurichi and a host of layouts falling under the Corporation on the way is once again a source of frustration for daily users of this stretch.

Not that it has ever been in good shape. Only that people have learned to use a bad road but are unable to do even that when it rain. Pools of slush confront pedestrians and test them in skilful negotiating of the stretch and topple two-wheeler riders.

Residents complain that at some spots the road has sunk, leaving large pits that get filled with rainwater and strangers get to know of their existence after a fall.In November last year, the public staged a blockade to draw the attention of officials to the bad shape of the road. The stretch connecting Sathyamangalam Road with Vilankurichi had worsened to such an extent that the residents of Ganapathy Maanagar, Gandhi Maanagar and Bannari Amman Nagar staged a blockade to demand repairs to the road.

Now 50 per cent of the 3.5 km road has been relaid but the rest of the stretch between Argus Junction and Vinobhaji Colony hardly looks a road. Residents say that portion between Vilankurichi Village and the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board's office is a nightmare for motorists.

Narrating the harrowing experience he undergoes along with others every day, N. R. Ravishankar, a resident of Sri Ambal Nagar, says an appeal has been made to the District Collector and the Department of Highways and a petition sent even to the Chief Minister's cell, requesting for immediate action.

Local councillors had told the people that the Highways had earmarked funds for repair works, Mr. Ravishankar says. But there is no sign of the work beginning.

Criticising the delay, he remarks: "At least signboards with the names and telephone numbers of hospitals can be put up along the road so that the injured know where to go for treatment. The condition of the road is so bad that it even calls for a couple of ambulances to be parked on this route."

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