Open trenches due to ongoing UGD work choke traffic in Munichalai Junction

Madurai: Traffic near Munichalai Junction has been disrupted since last Friday as repair work on an underground drainage (UGD) pipeline on Kuyavarpalayam Road is dragging on. Debris from digging up the road was piled up in the middle of the road, blocking almost the entire stretch, forcing vehicles into slow single lines while crossing the site.Commuters complained that the roadwork was dragging on for days and questioned why so much time was being taken for the repair work. “This road is an important connection to Munichalai Junction and sees a lot of traffic, especially during rush hour. If a school bus or lorry has to pass through this road, people will be stuck for a long time,” said S Harish, a commuter.Another resident welcomed the work. “The UGD pipeline system in this area has been facing a lot of issues, like leakages and overflows in the past few months.

If they are taking a few days to fix it, then hopefully they are doing a thorough job,” she said.A senior corporation official said the reason for the delay was because they had issues identifying the exact source of the UGD problem. “We knew the issue was from a certain area, but we had to do more work to understand and properly rectify all the issues,” he said, adding that the repairs are almost complete and the road will be relaid shortly.