CHENNAI: Choolaimedu High Road is a classic reflection of the kind of society we live in. Just like how the dominant-growing middle class elbows the poor and marginalised for want of more land and resources, the ever-increasing number of private vehicles and encroachments have slowly swallowed all the available space on Choolaimedu High Road. Today, the road is one of the most harrasing experiences for pedestrians in the city. MRTS commuters who use the Nungambakkam railway station are worst-hit. The moment one steps out of the station’s last step, he has to jiggle and dance on the road to avoid being run-over by the speeding traffic on the service road. Mayuri, a HR consultant travels from her home in Chromepet to her office in Anna Nagar, partly by train and by bus. “Travelling from Chromepet by train, I get down at Nungambakkam and take a bus from the Choolaimedu bus stop to get to Anna Nagar. But my little walk of not more than 500 meters from the station to the bus stop is a nightmare,” she says. “Every day the problem is only growing. The moment we reach the last step of the station’s exit, we ought to be on guard to avoid being runover as vehicles rush at breakneck speed down the service road. Crossing the Choolaimedu High Road is the biggest challenge. Ever since the police made it one way during the peak hours, vehicles are on a mad rush to negotiate the traffic before the signal turns and in the process, they give a damn about the pedestrians stranded between a sea of vehicles,” she adds.“The only way we can cross Choolaimedu High Road is when the vehicles are waiting jam-packed for the signal on Nelson Manickam Road. Then we rush between the vehicles, request drivers to back off or turn their bike handles to make way for us,” said Gopalan, a senior citizen living at Neelakandan Street adjacent to the Choolaimedu High Road. “For senior citizens like me, it curbs our freedom to go out and do what we want and makes us dependent.”While major cities across the world are giving incentives to pedestrians and commuters of public transport, the scenario is opposite in Chennai where people are being punished for their choice. Nelson Manickam Road is one of the crucial junctures of central Chennai. The Choolaimedu subway connects T Nagar, Nungambakkam, Anna Salai, Egmore with Anna Nagar, Aminjikarai, Chetpet, Kilpauk and the Choolaimedu High Road connects the Arcot road with Nelson Manickam Road near the subway making the area a hotspot for passenger traffic. “Unless the traffic issue of the Choolaimedu subway and High Road is resolved, the situation cannot be eased on other parts of Central Chennai,” says Narayanan, a retired general physician living in the area.“Most of the shops in this area have been encroaching onto the road, but no action has been taken about it. Last year, the Chennai Corporation went on a drive to demolish illegal encroachments but they sprang back soon,” he adds. The only way out, according to Narayanan is, to build a flyover from Choolaimedu High Road to Chari Road that leads to Harrington Road. “This way the flow of traffic will be continuous both on the subway and the high road which will ease the situation to its best.”
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