Encroachments and potholes make Thanjavur main road hell for motorists

TRICHY: Motorists traversing through the

Thanjavur

Main Road near

Gandhi Market

have more reasons to avoid the stretch due to encroachments on either sides and deteriorating road surface. Already, motorists face frequent traffic congestion on the road.

Though the state highway department recently carried out patch works,

residents

have sought the authorities to keep a constant check on encroachments and widen the existing road.

Thanjavur Main Road, a crucial stretch maintained by the state highways department, branching from Gandhi Market and running all the way till Palpannai Junction, is home to some of the city’s oldest commercial establishments. Even as the road’s width vary from 7m to 15m between the 2.2km stretch, several shops including metal traders, furniture shops and provisional stores have encroached on it, resulting in traffic snarls. Though the highways department conducted an eviction drive few months back, the encroachments are back.

Despite serving as a link for residents of Palakkarai, EB Road,

Varaganeri

and Viswas Nagar, the road could possibly be ranked at the top among the non-motorable roads in the city. “The Thanjavur Main Road passing through the city is pivotal for denizens to reach the Trichy-Chennai, Trichy-Madurai and Trichy-Thanjavur national highways. Despite being such a vital link, the road has not seen any widening works in a decade,” said K Shankar, resident of Varaganeri.

Echoing the demands of locals, road safety council member M Sekaran said that Thanjavur Main Road has been witnessing a large volume of both heavy and passenger vehicles proceeding towards Palpannai. When contacted, highways department sources said that plans to widen the Thanjavur Main Road is on the cards and added that it could soon see a change in its width.