Cracks appear on walking track near Uyyakondan canal

Trichy: Cracks on the retaining wall of the 750m-long walking and bicycling tracks abutting the bund of the Uyyakondan canal near the district court complex and the caving in of the surface due to the recent rains, are causing a risk to the users. Residents have sought the Trichy Corporation to close a portion of the weakened tracks and conduct a safety audit and take up the necessary reconstruction work.

Hundreds of morning walkers access the recreational space equipped with an open-air gymnasium. Many others, especially children sit on the wall near the canal, which witnesses a copious flow.

The worry of the walkers has been confounded by that fact that the Uyyakondan bank tracks have collapsed once due to heavy rains in May 2018. Since it was in the early hours, no one was injured but at least 30m of the stretch had collapsed and fell into the canal. The corporation had reconstructed a portion of the wall and the left old stretch untouched, which has been persistently witnessing caving in incidents for a year now.

“The canal is only six feet away from the retaining wall, if the tracks cave in, people will definitely plunge into the water. It is high time the civic body started repair work,” G Ramalingam, a walker said.

Corporation commissioner P M N Mujibur Rahuman told TOI that officials will be asked to conduct a study at the earliest.