CHENNAI: For 10-year-old Jayanthi R, crossing the Sivan Koil Street in Vadapalani to go to her school takes 10 minutes. She has to jump over the potholes and keep off the muck splashed by passing vehicles.“This road has remained damaged for long and recent showers have made it worse,” she said.Across the city, several interior roads and bus route roads that were in bad shape have been made worse by the recent spells of rain. Rayappan R, a commuter on Woods Road said, “Overflowing sewage due to clogged drains makes the situation worse. At the Woods Road-General Patters Road junction, water stagnation causes traffic jams.” Potholes on bus route roads and flooding of damaged roads have made commuting difficult. “A ride along Arcot Road from Kodambakkam until AVM is a nightmare,” said Velu, a cab driver.Activists said every year a major chunk of the civic body’s funds is spent on road work. Rs 1,330cr was spent in 2015 and 2016 to lay interior roads and bus route roads. “Later it was found that 80% of these roads were substandard,” said Jayaram Venkatesan, convenor of Arappor Iyakkam, an anti-corruption organisation.Some of the worst-affected stretches are Sridevi Kuppam Road, Alwarthirunagar, Sivan Koil Street, Pillayar Koil Street in Vadapalani area and 100 Feet Road in Velachery.Despite repairs, the roads become inaccessible after a few months. Following complaints in 2017, gravel wet mix was poured on First Main Road inside Marvel Riverview County in Manapakkam, said Nagarajan, a resident. “But it has gone out of shape,” he said.Activists said the entire idea of repairing roads just before the monsoon was not feasible. “The civic body has been spending crores on roads without concentrating on quality. If the roads were laid as per norms, they should be able to withstand the monsoon,” said C R Balaji, a member of Arappor Iyakkam. Activists said bitumen roads were more susceptible to damage from rain than concrete roads. Nashwa Naushad from ITDP said if water stagnation was prevented by providing sufficient drainage and rainwater harvesting structures, the problem would be less acute.Senior corporation officials said due to road cuts and construction of storm water drains, some stretches remained in bad shape. “But we repair the roads as soon as we get complaints,” said regional deputy commissioner , central, Subodh Kumar. Deputy commissioner, works, M Govinda Rao, said he would look into the matter.

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