A majority of roads tend towards the extremes of the activity spectrum — bustle or quiet. In a clear minority are those roads that strike an admirable balance between the two extremes. Vehicular traffic would be a constant on the carriageway. So would be pedestrians with feet tuned to a leisurely trot — these are the morning and evening walkers. Nookampalayam Link Road in Semmancherry belongs to the second category of roads. Off the IT Corridor, it bustles with moving wheels, often big wheels of heavy vehicles. At the same time, it is inviting to people out to add to their daily 10,000 step count. And those not of Nookampalayam Link Road also seek the road’s help in racking up that formidable number.
This picture has changed, only temporarily yet noticeably. Ever since CMWSSB started its pipeline-laying work on the road, the road has lost its usual attraction for the footstep-counting population. The carriageway is concrete and the concrete pieces yanked out close to the median for installing pipelines are deposited on the pavement.
That is not the problem; the huge time lag between depositing the rubble on the pavement and having it removed from the pavement, is. The situation was more unpalatable with the pavement resembling an embankment. A considerable amount of rubble has been cleared, but still, the new mounds of rubble that are generated sit like a duck for a while before being cleared.
CMWSSB clearly has to have a mechanism in place to ensure the rubble leaves the road not long after it is generated. The images were taken on June 29, 2024. Photos: Prince Frederick
