Water Resources Department officials said nearly 70% of the work had been completed, with the portion of the channel along Erikarai road likely to be built in two weeks and the road opened for traffic.
School children and office-goers who take Erikarai Salai — which connects Madipakkam, Pallikaranai, and S. Kolathur — are forced to take detours due to the excavation work to build a channel from Narayanapuram lake to Pallikaranai marshland.
Residents said the ongoing work had used up a portion of the arterial Pallavaram-Thoraipakkam road, and completely blocked Erikarai road, creating traffic bottlenecks.
Motorists are stranded for nearly 15 minutes on Thoraipakkam-Pallavaram Radial Road near Narayanapuram lake every day as a portion of Erikarai Salai has been dug up for the project. The road is a vital link to three schools in the area.
The ₹44-crore project to build the 900-m channel began in September 2024. It aimed at transferring 1,000 cubic feet per second of floodwater to the marshland, and reduce flooding in neighbouring areas, including Sunambu Kolathur.
Residents said the road witnessed heavy traffic as it had been rendered narrow by the work. Motorists from areas such as LIC Nagar in Madipakkam take a detour of at least 1.5 km to reach Narayanapuram or Pallikaranai.
People heading from S. Kolathur, Pallikaranai, and Narayanapuram to the Thoraipakkam-Pallavaram radial road navigate the narrow, dug up road cautiously. Wrong side driving adds to the traffic congestion.
B. Raja of Kuberan Nagar said: “I was surprised to see a huge portion of Erikarai Salai dug up earlier this month. We received no prior information regarding the excavation nor was any sign boards put up. School children are now forced to take a longer route.”
Rajesh, another resident from S. Kolathur said, though it was a welcome initiative , the authorities concerned should have completed the work during the summer holidays.
Residents said several vans parked on the S. Kolathur Main Road and Narayanapuram worsened the traffic. They want a makeshift road to be built to link Erikarai road, and traffic police personnel deployed at the junction between Thoraipakkam-Pallavaram radial road and Erikarai road.
B. Vijayalakshmi, President, Federation of Radial Road Residents’ Associations, Pallikaranai, said: “The work, which began last year, is still being carried out. It is becoming increasingly difficult to even cross the road. The authorities must expedite the work.”
Water Resources Department officials said nearly 70% of the work had been completed, with the portion of the channel along Erikarai Salai likely to be built in two weeks and the road opened for traffic. “We are planning to quickly complete the project with the cooperation of traffic police personnel,” an official said.
Besides the Northeast monsoon last year, the delay in getting permissions from various departments to build the channel led to the slow progress, officials said.
(With inputs from K. Lakshmi)
Published – June 29, 2025 01:08 am IST
