Locals face long walk to Puzhuthivakkam station

Chennai: Three weeks after Puzhuthivakkam MRTS station opened to the public, nearby residents take circuitous routes to access it, owing to entry points adjoining interior roads remaining shut.The station that opened on March 14 has four blocks which serve as entry points, one each on either side of Inner Ring Road (also known as Jawaharlal Nehru Salai), and the two others from an interior road on either side. Residents say the shutters of entrances, along the interior road connecting Saraswathy Nagar and Ram Nagar have remained shut, forcing people to access the station from the main Inner Ring Road, which is a kilometre-long detour. "Not only people from our area, but also those from Bhuvaneshwari Nagar, Andal Nagar and MGR Nagar, which have more than 1,000 families, will benefit if this block is cleared. The distance will reduce to just 450-500 metres," said K Bhaskar, president, Saraswathy Nagar residents welfare association.According to residents, the detour is caused by the lack of any direct street or road leading to the main road. When TOI visited AGS colony, an area in the vicinity, it took eight minutes to get onto the main road on a two-wheeler. "One has to go through at least 20 interior roads or streets to get onto the main road, from where it is nearly a kilometre to the station," R Rishikesan, a resident of Ram Nagar, said.Residents also flagged the presence of antisocial elements at the blocks yet to be opened and called for improvement of amenities at the newly opened block. "We can see liquor bottles and cigarette butts strewn around the unopened blocks. Strangers can often be seen lurking around in late hours. The newly opened block also requires a round-the-clock escalator facility," Bhaskar added."We have asked for bus routes and improvement of last-mile connectivity from the station. At present, residents of AGS Colony, Saraswathy Nagar, and surrounding areas face significant commute difficulty due to limited feeder transport options," said Geetha Ganesh, secretary, AGS colony residents welfare association. Southern Railway divisional railway manager Shailendra Singh did not respond to TOI's calls. An official from Southern Railway said he would check with the concerned staff and expedite opening of the closed shutters.