Drain lid troubling MKB Nagar residents

CHENNAI: A two-feethigh cement drainage lid constructed right in the middle of a main road is troubling the residents of MKB Nagar, and nothing has been done despite numerous complaints about its potential dangers.Clumsily dug and hastily filled has been the norm for roads in Maha Kavi Bharti Nagar. While sometimes it is the metro water officials, other times it is the electricity board officials who have dug up the side of the roads, which have remained open for months together. Subsequently when the new roads were being laid, at the 4th Main Road, the corporation decided to identify the drainage holes in the middle of the road in a unique way.They created a mount like cement structure in the centre of the road and then covered it with a lid.“When we lay the new roads, the drainage openings tend to get sealed if attention is not paid. This can cause trouble later if there is a drainage problem ever.That’s why the pothole was covered up on a mounted cement structure so that even if new roads are laid, this doesn’t get buried,” a worker from the corporation ward explained. While the process of laying roads without digging up the old ones itself is a violation, mounted drainage holes in the middle of the roads is a death knell for motorists.“Many bikers who are not aware of the roads come zooming in and have a great fall. It’s a residential colony so the speeds are little high considering the roads are vacant.Hence the bikers notice the drainage lid only in the last minute when it is too late,” Ravinder, a resident living on the 4th Main Road said.“Anybody is bound to fall if they are not watching,” he added.Motorists have trouble maneuvering their vehicles on this road. “This mountain like drainage has been created at a strategic intersection of two roads, so if you are turning into this road on a bike without watching where you’re headed, God save you. My car had a huge dent the first time I came in. People who are not residents face a bigger difficulty as they are not aware of this danger ahead. Residents have grown used to it, and complaints have fallen on deaf ears,” Imran a resident in the area, said. “I am amazed how the officials concerned didn’t realize the dangers of constructing a structure like this in the middle of a busy road,” he added. “It is atrocious.”