Residents gherao toll plaza office on Chennai – Bengaluru Highway in Walajah demanding subway

Residents, including women and farmers, from Chennasamudram village gheraoed the toll plaza office on Chennai – Bengaluru Highway (NH 48) in Walajah town in Ranipet on Tuesday, demanding that the NHAI construct a subway across the busy stretch to prevent accidents on the route.

The protest comes in the wake of an accident in which K. Sarath Kumar, 24, a mason from Chennasamudram village, was killed after being hit by a tourist van when he tried to cross the busy stretch on Sunday. He was rushed to Government Medical College Hospital in Vellore where doctors declared he was brought dead. “Sarath Kumar was not the first victim of the road accident in the stretch. Many lives were lost and families were affected. We want a facility to cross the stretch safely,” said G. Muniyan, a resident.