Pantheon Road, a 1.3-km stretch of tourist attraction with a large number of residents on its by-lanes, needs beautification and better civic infrastructure to tackle pollution caused by overflowing sewage. Along with that, due to Cyclone Michaung, the roads were flooded too.
The road in Ward 61 in Egmore connects two bridges across the Cooum River, which flows between Chintadripet and Nungambakkam. With many residential high rises and commercial properties, including heritage buildings such as the Egmore Museum and Connemara Library, places of worship, and a major hospital, the road attracts a large number of visitors.
In addition to the overflowing sewage and flooding, residents flagged major complaints, among which were encroachments on footpaths and mosquito breeding hotspots. Even after GCC gave a makeover, ahead of the hockey tournament at Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium, at several locations, the road and its by-lanes look dirty ue to sewage overflow, and delayed the completion of projects.
Better civic amenities
M. Purushothaman, who runs an NGO called Thedal, said that volunteers from MSSW conducted a campaign to beautify the road to drive home the message of ‘liveable neighbourhoods’. “Pantheon Road attracts many tourists. It is also a residential area. So, it needs beautification and better civic amenities,” he said. Fathima Muzaffer, councillor of Ward 61 in Egmore, said that the residents have demanded better civic infrastructure work on various aspects to make the road attractive for tourists and liveable for residents.
Demands of the residents
The demands of residents include the speedy completion of the pumping station near Egmore Court, better sewer infrastructure removal of encroachments on footpaths, and etter design of storm-water drains.
Chennai Corporation has almost completed the new storm-water drain after the old arch drain became defunct. The remaining work will resume after Pongal, said Ms. Muzuffer.
“The road caved in. So, the restoration work had to be carried out for a few days after the monsoon. The road has educational institutions, heritage buildings, and residences. We will beautify the road. But, we have requested the mayor to include councillors in the committee for regulating street vendors. This can resolve some problems ,” she said.
Chennai Corporation officials said Metrowater has informed them that the issue of sewage overflow would be resolved after the pumping station is inaugurated on Ayya Samy Street near Egmore Court. “The flooding of the road and its by-lanes was caused by the reverse flow from the Cooum River. The flood water receded after 18 hours,” said an official.
Chennai Corporation has implemented various ambitious projects such as a cycle sharing system, wide footpaths for non-motorised transport, bollards, junction improvement project at Aditanar Statue Junction, and bridge beautification near Egmore Museum. However, most of the projects have not been utilised by residents.
