Chennai: Chennai Central was promised a skywalk, multi-storey parking lots and a world-class railway station three years ago, but they are yet to complete the paper work.
Despite the state government, in principle, approving the proposed 1-km-long skywalk on the arterial Poonamallee High Road junction, the projects have been non-starters. The multi-storey parking lots, proposed by the Chennai corporation at Broadway and T Nagar, face a legal hurdle.
In early 2006, the state highways planned nine state-of-the-art subways similar to those in Singapore, with fibre glass coverings, but even this project was shelved as closing down the existing subways posed a difficulty.
“Chennai Central junction is one of the worst junctions in terms of traffic chaos even during non peak hours and needs new subways and better foothpaths,” says Nalini Kumar, a state government employee.
“Thousands of Southern Railway passengers, patients at the government general hospital and employees at the government office convene at the Central junction; and the central subways and old subways are unable to cater to the growing floating population,” says Santha Kumar, a resident of Wall Tax Road.
The Southern Railway, in collaboration with the state government, had also planned to undertake a major project to decongest the arterial Poonamallee High Road. Under the project, the railways proposed to develop Chennai Central into a world-class station; a joint venture was planned, but this project too has not seen the light of day. “The project, announced in the Union railway budget, was shelved as metro rail was announced,” quipped a Southern Railway official.
The skywalk proposal was cleared by the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority and the Municipal Administration and Water Supply department in 2011, but for some reason it is yet to start, admit secretariat sources.
A senior corporation official admitted that the project was under consideration and the feasibility report was getting ready but failed to provide details on commencement of the project and duration for completion. “Only after the metro rail work is completed we will be able to look into the issue,” a senior corporation engineer said.
