Source : The Times of India Date : 09.07.2009

After 20 yrs, way cleared for link road in Tambaram

CHENNAI: It took a long time coming but when it finally came, on Wednesday, nearly 20,000 residents of East Tambaram and Selaiyur were elated. Two decades after the first petition was filed for the link road, the Tambaram municipality finally cleared the way for laying an access road connecting Avaithar Street in Selaiyur with Velachery Main Road.

"This is a dream come true for thousands of residents. It cut shorts the distance by nearly three kilometres," said K Vijayalakshmi, a resident of New Balaji Nagar.

Currently, residents of New Balaji Nagar, IOB Colony, Bharathi Nagar, Selaiyur (South) and adjoining areas reach Velachery Main Road via Camp Road that belongs to the Indian Air Force. All these years, they had a tough time as the road was often restricted for traffic movement for security reasons.

Now all that is set to end soon. "I was in my 20s when the issue was first highlighted by the residents. Since then, the problem has been raised at every forum such as welfare association meetings, monthly council meetings and grievances meetings," said a Tambaram municipality official.

According to sources, the municipality acquired 6,000 sq ft of land from private owners for the 24-ft wide link road. It paid the required Rs 10.90 lakh to the revenue department of the Kancheepuram district in 2002 but procedural delays hampered the muncipality's efforts to lay the road. The issue was tabled in the monthly council meeting in 1989 and was cleared by the councillors.

Since then, repeated reminders were made by municipal officials and by the elected representative of the ward concerned (Ward No:20) at the monthly council meetings and now the dream has come true. "We will immediately level the ground and lay a 'kutcha' road. After a resolution is passing at the upcoming council meeting for topping it with bitumen along with the estimate, we will lay a permanent road on the existing stretch," sources said.