Senior citizens lie down on potholed road in Chennai, protest inaction by municipal corporation

4 elderly people from Chennai, who were angry that the roads in their area were of poor quality and the Tambaram municipal administration refused to accept their petitions, staged a sit-in on the road near Crompet on Wednesday.

Despite repeated reminders, the municipal administration did not take any action. They were taking their time. So me and an old couple decided to protest by lying on the road. We raised placards and raised slogans demanding the authorities to take action,” Dr V Santhanam (84), a social activist who runs the People’s Awareness Society, told indianexpress.com.

Santhanam and others protested the potholed condition of the service road near the MIT flyover on the GST road. “There are many residents in that area. The road has been unpaved for years while the highway department has to maintain it. Meanwhile, the Tambaram Corporation dug up the road for underground drainage but did not re-pave the road which further damaged it,” said Santhanam, adding that many accidents occur on this stretch, and He just fell there.

Santhanam, who has lived in Krompettai for five decades, said many stormwater drains in the surrounding areas of Krompettai and Pallavaram are not functional and water bodies are being polluted due to dumping of sewage.

Following their protest, the highway department officials carried out some patching work overnight, but the potholes are still there.