Chennai: The ride back home from schools and offices was rather bumpy on the 200-foot Radial Road between Pallavaram and Thoraipakkam on Monday, with commuters having to dodge giant potholes and pits filled with rainwater every step of the way.Though the main carriageway was largely passable, not counting the potholes near the Velachery main road junction, the service lanes were a mess. Water-filled craters, which can be fixed with cold mix even when it rains, made evening commute hard. Neither Tambaram corporation nor state highways department had cleared the stretch for long.In 2019, state highways department had launched a ₹225-crore stormwater-drain project and built drains on both sides of the road. These drains, however, remain unconnected between several junctions. Service lanes, too, have not been restored.The department has also failed to provide inlets for rainwater to enter the drains. As a result, the drains largely function as surplus channels for water from Pallavaram Periya Eri, Putheri, Keelkattalai, Narayanapuram and Pallikaranai, rather than draining water from the road. Instead the stagnant water seeps through the bitumen, weakening the road, said road users.Highways department’s divisional engineer and assistant divisional engineers were unavailable for comment.Anti-corruption NGO Arappor Iyakkam activist David Manohar said the department had spent ₹235 crore for the work, but the project remained incomplete. “They have not improved the service lanes. The Chengalpet collector, in May 2024, directed authorities to build a retention wall in Periya Eri and Keelkattalai to ensure the road does not sink,” he said.They built one in Pallavaram Periya Eri, but, in Keelkattalai, they built one only on the southern side and fenced it. “On the northern side is not fenced. This leads to sinkage. And, the stretch should be 100ft on each side, but it is only 60ft, 70ft, 80ft or 90ft at different places. A PIL on this is also pending,” Manohar said.
