Tamil Nadu - Madurai   

Madurai-Melur-Tirupattur road traffic restored

—Photo: K. Ganesan

’end’ of the road: The temporary road that was washed away near Keezhavalavu.

MADURAI: Traffic was restored on Tuesday evening on Madurai-Melur-Tirupattur highway which remained cut off for five days after a short stretch was washed away in the rain near Keezhavalavu.

Inadequate vent facility provided on the around 100-foot earthen road that was laid to facilitate re-construction of a minor bridge threatened to inundate neighbouring paddy fields and an adjacent Government school.

“We had to cut it to prevent water from entering the paddy fields,” Melur Tahsildar A.K. Neelaram said while inspecting the repair work.

The contractor and the Highways official failed to lay enough pipes for rainwater to drain under the road without affecting vehicular traffic.

“We did not expect such a downpour during March,” a Highways engineer said. The gushing water from the Keezhavalavu tank eroded a good portion of the earthen road, forcing the officials to suspend vehicular movement since Friday.

All bus services between Madurai-Tirupattur, via Melur, were diverted through Sivaganga. Passengers, who had to take a circuitous route, wasted time and money. Besides, the damaged road made life miserable for students to reach the Government high school at M. Malampatti on the other side.

“Vehicular traffic, including bus service, was restored in the evening,” Mr. Neelaram said.

A similar action by contractors of National Highways Authority of India involved in the four-lane project resulted in suspension of traffic on the busy Madurai-Tiruchi highway for nearly a week as temporary roads near Therkku Theru and Kottampatti were washed away in monsoon rains in December last year.

Meanwhile, craters dot the Melur-Tiruchi highway and cars and long-distance buses were seen plying precariously.

In an attempt to avoid the craters, the drivers were changing lanes, posing danger to on-coming vehicles.

The condition of new stretches of road laid on a higher platform was intact while the existing road, especially adjacent to the elevated portion of the new road under construction, was worse due to stagnation of rain water.

Efforts taken to fill up the potholes did not produce the desired result as the mixture of different sizes of gravel could not withstand the heavy traffic movement.

“The tyres of zooming vehicles can throw up stones causing injuries to motorists and passers-by,” a driver said.

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