Good for a dip, the Thillai Ganga Nagar subway as it appears, in the wake of rain.

CHENNAI, DEC. 19.

The Thillai Ganga Nagar subway presents an unusual sight these days - it has been converted into a swimming pool in the wake of the showers.

A service bridge on the Adambakkam side of this key link remains unfinished, and the work on the subway is expected to be completed by March.

However, litigation and acquisition problems of the approach roads pose serious questions on the utility of the Rs. 8.45 crore 400 metre road-under-bridge.

The 21.5 metre wide RUB with a height of 5.5 metres has been designed for four lane traffic with a central median.

Though the subway link is upto 23rd street T.G.Nagar from MKN Road, the project envisages connectivity up to Velacheri, via Madipakkam and Ullagaram and then onto Old Mahabalipuram Road.

On the St.Thomas Mount side the subway is to be connected to the GST road, opposite the Officers Training Academy, after further land acquisition.

Private negotiations are almost complete for a length of 1.2 km on the Adambakkam side.

About 400 metres have been acquired in the Madipakkam village.

The litigation on the Mount side appears more complex.

The Defence Authorities have sought alternative land for handing over 1,560 sq.metres of their property.

This apart, land from a private company would also have to be taken over for extending the approach road from the subway between MKN Road and GST Road.

From the subway to MKN road a 200 metre site at the foot of the bridge is under litigation, as there is a dispute on the ownership of two buildings.

A court injunction has also been obtained by one of the parties concerned.

Only after the ownership issue is settled can the property be acquired for road formation.

It was in May 2000 that the work was entrusted to a private contractor with an 18 month schedule drawn up for completing the RUB and a parallel process initiated for the acquisition process for the approach roads.

The railway portion was completed as early as 1995.

Highways authorities are confident that the connecting roads would at least ensure minimum utility to road users, who take the existing roads leading to the subway.

On the Mount side the MKN road would help reach the GST Road.

The Medavakkam High Road is accessible from the foot of the subway on the Adambakkam side.

Meanwhile, the subway appears like a reservoir with water stagnation due to the rains.

Sources indicate that pumping out the water would not serve any purpose as the water table around the subway was high and percolation would be minimum.

The St.Thomas Mount subway too is almost complete, but for shifting of water lines.

Though the work was awarded to a contractor more than six months back it remains incomplete.

Intervention by the Social Welfare Minister, Ms. B. Valarmathi, has had little impact.

At a recent review meeting on the subway, she instructed the departments concerned to ensure that the subway is thrown open to traffic by December 15.