Residents including women, farmers, traders and students from 20 village hamlets of the Nemili taluk in Ranipet on Tuesday, December 26, 2023, blocked the Ocheri-Arakkonam Main Road in Panapakkam village protesting against the damage of village roads by trucks that carry sand and blue metal, for the ongoing ₹5,964 crore Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway work.
Residents said that the many rural roads in 20 hamlets comprising nine village panchayats such as Arigilapadi, Agavalam, Avaloor, Mahendiravadi, Kodambakkam, Vepperi, Thuraiyur, Sankarampadi and Uliyanallore have been extensively damaged since May 2022, when work to lay the expressway was started by the National Highways Authority of Indian (NHAI).
“We gave petitions to 21 government departments including the revenue, forest and water resources department as well as the NHAI to re-lay the damaged stretches but there has been no action,” said S. Deenadayalan, vice-chairman, Nemili Panchayat Union that comprises 124 villages in Ranipet district.
Most of the damaged roads are classified as Rural Roads (RR) by the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA), which maintains the stretches with funds from the State government. These stretches connect key facilities like schools, colleges, primary healthcare centres, banks, ATMs, post offices and government offices in major towns like Arakkonam, Nemili and Walajah with the affected villages.
Due to the severe damage to the roads, residents said that many buses that are operated by the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) were stopped due to frequent breakdowns. Also, loads of sand from dry lakes and riverbeds near the villages are being taken for the expressway work. This has depleted existing water resources and affected farming in the area, residents said.
Around 10.30 a.m on Tuesday, more than 500 residents from affected villages blocked the key stretch. As it was rush hour, traffic was hit on the route. Immediately, a 20-member police team led by Girish Ashok Yadav, Assistant Superintendent of Police (Arakkonam), rushed to the spot and pacified the agitated residents. After more than three hours of the agitation, the residents dispersed peacefully.
Originally sanctioned in 2010, phase-I of the expressway project was virtually inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 26, 2022.
Tucked between the existing Chennai - Bengaluru Highway (NH 44) and the dry Palar river, the expressway will connect Bengaluru with Chennai, allowing travellers to reach these cities in three hours, covering 258 km by road. At present, motorists have to drive at least six hours on the Chennai - Bengaluru Highway. Of the total 258 kms, 92 km of the project come under Vellore (11.67 km), Ranipet (42.33 km) and Kancheepuram (38 kms) districts, NHAI officials said.
