Residents want new street name boards to be installed at M.G.R. Nagar in Chennai

On Seethalai Sathanar Cross Street in M.G.R. Nagar, which falls under Division 137, the name board has fallen and has been removed and set aside
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) installed stainless steel street name boards across the city several years ago. These boards received a lot of positive reviews and feedback, as they helped maintain uniformity in street signage and made it easier to locate addresses. Previously, street names were mostly painted on the compound walls of houses, which faded quickly or were covered with posters, making it difficult for people to identify addresses.

However, in several places in M.G.R. Nagar and K.K. Nagar, these name boards have either faded — with the paint peeling off — or have fallen down and been placed near the corners of the streets. On Seethalai Sathanar Cross Street in M.G.R. Nagar, which falls under Division 137, the name board has fallen and has been removed and placed aside. A similar situation can be seen on several other streets in M.G.R. Nagar.

We request the Corporation to take steps install new name boards by removing the old and damaged ones.

S. Thiyagarajan,

M.G.R. Nagar 

GCC responds

A senior official of the GCC’s Kodambakkam zone said that the street name boards were originally installed during the tenure of the current Health Minister, Ma. Subramanian, when he served as the Mayor of the Corporation. The official added that the street name boards are proposed to be replaced, and once the work begins, the old and damaged boards in M.G.R. Nagar and K.K. Nagar will be removed and replaced with new ones.

Road cut woes

Interior streets in the city are often damaged due to road cuts carried out by residents or civic infrastructure contractors, who typically do not compact the refilled patches or finish the surface with cement or blacktop immediately. Additionally, the restoration of these road cuts — supposed to be monitored by local officials of the Greater Chennai Corporation — is often not inspected properly, resulting in poorly restored patches that can lead to accidents.

In this regard, it is suggested that road cuts up to a size of one foot be permitted from January to September each year, excluding the rainy months from October to December. This permission would be granted on the condition that the cut is immediately refilled, either through mechanical or manual compaction, and finished with cement or blacktop. However, instead of properly blacktopping the cuts, the Chennai Corporation often allows contractors to simply fill the potholes and leave them to compact on their own. This negligence worsens road conditions for users and frequently leads to accidents.

Johnson Samuel,

Teynampet