“Recently moved to Saravanampatti and it’s shockingly dusty. Much of the area lacks proper roads, and standing by the roadside for just 10 minutes leaves you covered in dust. Hard to imagine how families with young children cope with these conditions”. “Coimbatore Corporation cares only about RS Puram and Saibaba Colony”.
The above are just 2 of the endless expression of disappointment by the residents of Coimbatore, after their recent travel during rain in the city. Most roads in the city are dug-up for the 24×7 water supply project besides other public work. While untouched roads in several areas already suffer from poor maintenance, the sites where the public works have taken place are filled with potholes.
Aakash Jayansankaran, a Coimbatore-based young entrepreneur who has been highlighting the poor conditions of the roads in the city for quite sometime was among the long-list highlighted this condition by posting videos, that became viral on social media.
He posted the condition of roads in Vadavalli-Maruthamalai, and that formed a thread of opinions and comments from other users about roads in different localities. “Why cannot the authorities fix the roads after digging them up?” asked a user while most of them accused the local administration of its inefficiency.
A Rs.75 crore relief on the way?
Not long after the comments started gaining traction on social media, news broke that the corporation has prepared DPR to fix roads in 5 zones of the city at a cost of Rs. 75 crore. Works are expected to commence before December 2026. As the local body elections are not far away, Coimbatore Corporation is planning to solve the issue before the election season starts.
The DMK-led previous Tamil Nadu Govt made bold claims that special funds worth several crores were released by then Chief Minister to improve roads in Coimbatore. Even if the roads were improved, the damages are again done on them. X-Cut road, Women’s Polytechnic Road, Avinashi Road, Vilankurichi Road are some of them.
Kishore Chandran, a prominent activist and sustainability advocate welcomed Corporation’s plan to upgrade roads, and remarked that it is high time Coimbatore got the basic infrastructure its deserves. “Good roads are not a luxury; they are a basic necessity,” he said,.
Aakash and several others opined that if the promised new roads are not of good quality, corporation officials’ efficiency will once again be questioned by the public.
