Chennai: For more than two weeks now, pedestrians crossing West Avenue Road in Thiruvanmiyur and heading towards OMR have been braving MTC buses and speeding two-wheelers as a shoddily completed underground cable-laying work has left them to suffer.Residents of Appu Colony, adjoining the road, said many elderly people met with minor accidents, tripping at the spot. “Last week, a middle-aged woman fell from her scooter near the barricade. The cable work was completed in three days. No one knows why the authorities are taking this long to close it and remove the debris,” said Prithivi Raj, a resident of the colony.A visit to the spot revealed that the road pavement was completely occupied by debris, forcing residents to walk on the 1.5-lane-wide road. Since the portion is adjacent to the bus depot, MTC buses stop right on the road, forcing two-wheelers and motorists to overtake. “For people looking to get onto the OMR from Thiruvanmiyur, West Avenue Road is the first choice. Hindering free access on this road is a crime. We encountered this inconvenience for too long. The debris has to be removed at the earliest,” said Neelakandan, a resident of LB Road.When contacted, Tangedco officials said only the barricades were theirs, not the work. “This division saw the installation of a 230 KV line, which was completely undertaken by the Tamil Nadu Transmission Corporation (Tantransco). Since they started the work, they have to complete it,” an assistant engineer said.Tantranscro MD C Shivakumar said he would address the issue at the earliest.
