CTH Road needs to be widened to boost Thiruninravur’s development, say residents

Residents of Thiruninravur say that there aren’t enough bus services to reach the neighbourhood. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The first thing that visitors to the western suburb of Thiruninravur notice is the badly designed rail-overbridge (ROB) constructed to replace the level crossing 12. To reach the old settlement, where Sri Bhakthavatsala Perumal temple — one of the 108 divya desams — is located, vehicles from Avadi have to use the ROB.

“Since the service lanes are too narrow, vehicles struggle to reach the ROB. As in the case with most market areas, these streets are encroached upon by shops and parked vehicles. Motorists coming from the Chennai Outer Ring Road and the six-lane wide Periyapalayam-Thiruninravur Road also find it impossible to get onto the overbridge. If the Chennai-Tirupathi Road is widened, we wonder what will happen to this ROB,” said T. Sadagopan, consumer activist and resident of nearby Pattabiram.

S. Murugaiyyan of the Thiruninravur Rail Passengers Welfare Association said there were not enough bus and rail services to this thickly populated area. “We do not have bus connectivity to Kilambakkam. Though the road is called Chennai-Tirupati Highway, we don’t have buses to Tirupati or Tiruvallur. It would be good to have connectivity to both places from Ambattur and Avadi,” he said.

Mr. Murugaiyyan also said that thefts were very common at the railway station and to lodge complaints, people have to go all the way to Tiruvallur. “Due to the distance, many times people just ignore the thefts, if they are not major. We have been asking for a local Railway police station here itself,” he added.

For the farmers growing vegetables and flowers in the surrounding villages like Pakkan, and residents of about 20 areas, the Thiruninravur station is the only way to reach the other parts of the city.

A. Roy Rozario of People’s Voice said that the widening of the stretch of Chennai-Tiruvallur High Road (CTH) running from Padi to Thiruninravur was a four decade old promise.

Project lagging behind

“The road is hardly four lanes wide and this shrinks further due to encroachments throughout. The National Highways Authority of India, which had authority of the 20-km stretch, gave it up due to land acquisition issues. Later, State Highways took over the project but to no avail. They have been managing the project in a very shoddy manner. The road has not yet been repaired or patched up,” he said.

As far as basic infrastructure is concerned, Thiruninravur lacks an underground sewage system and the drinking water supply is quite erratic. “The water lines do not cover all houses,” said Srinidhi, a resident.

The place, which was home to a steel rolling mill called ISRM, is also called as Thinnanur, and now houses a large steel yard. Easan Engineering is another business that survived the vagaries of time.

The area lacks major hospitals, hotels and parking spaces but has many Tasmac outlets. Without the widening of the CTH Road, Thiruninravur will not develop, the residents said.

Published - June 19, 2025 12:49 am IST