A view of incomplete storm water work-in-progress at Ramapuram on Sunday.
| Photo Credit: B. VELANKANNI RAJ
On any given day, Ramapuram Main Road is almost certain to be choked with traffic. During peak hours in the morning and evening, vehicles crawl for hours, making the 2.5-kilometre stretch nearly impassable. The road, which links areas such as Nesapakkam, Valasaravakkam, and Alwarthirunagar to Mount Poonamallee Road, has become extremely difficult to navigate, residents say, due to ongoing storm-water drain works being done ahead of the monsoon.Already notorious for traffic snarls, the road is used by hundreds of office-goers heading to Guindy, DLF, and other hubs. The current works, however, have compounded the misery of both commuters and residents.Sugumar, who runs a pharmacy along the road, says the project has dragged on for over two months with no signs of completion. “There is no coordination between Tangedco and the Chennai Corporation. The work is poorly planned. If they had coordinated earlier, the process would have been smoother. For over a month, I have lost a lot of business because customers simply could not come,” he says.Vans and buses of a nearby private college further add to the congestion as they struggle to squeeze through the narrow stretch. Aruna, an IT professional who commutes daily to her office in Thoraipakkam, says it is a struggle to drive through the road every day.“The road condition is very bad. At one stretch, even after the pit was closed, the road is unmotorable because rods and debris are still lying around. In another part, shops extend into the road, and vehicles are parked haphazardly. This makes it so narrow that two cars can’t pass each other,” she explains.V. Rajan, Chairman of Zone 11 Ward Committee, acknowledged delays in completing the storm-water drain works. He said that since the road is already developed as a packed residential and commercial area with existing sewage lines, electricity cables, and metrowater pipelines, the construction is complicated. “In a vacant plot or open space, building a canal is straightforward. But here, we must ensure that drainage, metrowater supply, and other essential services are not disrupted, which is why the work is taking more time,” he said.Mr. Rajan added that plans are also in place to identify and remove encroachments from the Ramapuram signal on Mount Poonamallee Road up to Aavin Junction at Alwarthirunagar. Published - September 29, 2025 05:45 am IST
