The New Indian Express ·
Dharmapuri residents block road, demand closure of pits left by halted expansion work
DHARMAPURI: Over 80 residents of B Agraharam staged a protest blocking the Dharmapuri-Pennagaram Road demanding the immediate closure of pits dug by the state highways department for road expansion.
Last year, the state government announced a project costing Rs 45 crores to expand the Dharmapuri-Pennagaram Road to reduce traffic congestion. As part of this, work began earlier this year, starting with the construction of three ground-level bridges. But shortly after the state highways department began the work, it was halted due to legal issues.
This left huge pits dug along the road, which have been unattended since. Now, residents state that due to increasing traffic congestion and accidents, immediate efforts are needed to close down the pits.
P Chezian from B Agraharam said, "In three places, the state highway department had dug out the road to construct pillars for a ground-level bridge. Four months ago, the work was suddenly halted and to date, no work has been undertaken.
In our village, the roads have become unusable because of the dugouts, and we are facing severe traffic congestion. Furthermore, poor visibility at night has caused many two-wheeler accidents. In the past month alone, at least dozens of minor accidents have occurred here. So, we need these pits closed."
Another resident, B Priyanka, said, "The dust from the damaged road is severely disrupting the daily life of the people. Due to the heavy traffic flow on this road, the dust from the broken surfaces pollutes our homes and even our food.
We filed multiple requests with the state highways department to close the pits, but we are mostly ignored. So, we staged a protest. Why must the highways hasten a key road project without resolving legal issues first? This has disrupted the lives of hundreds of families living in the area."
When TNIE reached out to police, they said, "Over 80 residents from the village staged a protest blocking the Dharmapuri-Pennagaram Road and causing severe traffic disruptions for nearly two hours. Following assurances from revenue and state highways promising immediate action, the protest was called off."