A private ambulance overturned after hitting rainwater-filled potholes on Chennai’s Tambaram-Velachery Road on Tuesday night, injuring its driver and a nurse and renewing demands for urgent road repairs along the busy arterial.
The ambulance was travelling towards the Velachery side when the driver reportedly lost control after encountering potholes that had filled with rainwater. The vehicle struck a road divider and overturned. It was not carrying a patient at the time, preventing a potentially more serious emergency.
Residents who reached the spot helped turn the ambulance upright and arranged for the injured driver and nurse to be taken to Tambaram Government Hospital in another 108 ambulance, according to a report by DT Next.
The 17-km road connects eastern Tambaram with Anna Salai near Guindy’s Halda Junction through Selaiyur, Camp Road, Sembakkam, Medavakkam and Pallikaranai. It serves as an alternative to GST Road between Tambaram and Guindy and carries substantial traffic through the day, including students, office-goers and local residents.
The damaged stretches are linked to pipeline-laying work for a seawater desalination project between East Tambaram and Medavakkam. Residents have alleged that the work is progressing slowly and that excavated trenches have not been properly filled in sections where pipeline installation has already been completed.
With northeast monsoon rain covering the potholes with water, motorists are finding it difficult to identify damaged portions of the road. Residents and motorists said the conditions have increased the risk of accidents and contributed to traffic congestion along the route. They have called for the pipeline work to be expedited, trenches to be closed immediately after each section is completed and damaged portions to be restored.
Officials from the Highways Department told DT Next that the pipeline work had not yet been completed. The department said it could begin road repairs only after the entire stretch was handed over to it, adding that it had urged the agency responsible for the pipeline work to accelerate the project.
The officials said road restoration would begin after the pipeline-laying work is completed and the road is formally handed over to the Highways Department.
