Twin trouble for road users on a major corridor in Chennai Metropolitan Area

Manga legend Naruto Uzumaki’s heroics include his adroit dodging of antagonist Madara’s Light Fang. Imagine a parallel universe called Vandalur-Kelambakkam Road directing its Dark Fang at Naruto: this weapon is the exact opposite of Madara’s, pitch darkness replacing blinding light, but it is just as deadly, if not more. How Naturo would fare on this “pitch-dark” road is probably open to debate, that is, among non-fans. But no discussion is warranted where regular motorists are concerned; they are bound to struggle navigating the road at night. 

Expect a pat and damning word about the road’s lighting quotient from the traffic police personnel from the Kilambakkam station manning the junction of GST Road and Vandalur-Kelambakkam Road, going by what this writer heard from one of them recen: “No lights for twenty kilometres.” That statement ignored the fact that high-mast lamps have been planted in the median at certain key junctions (examples include Kolapakkam and Kandigai) and around educational institutions (examples include Tagore Engineering College, Sri Balaji Polytechnic College, Ramanujar Engineering College and Sri Balaji Arts and Science College). But these high-mast lights (some not so high) but they are few in number, some only partly functional, and collectively, cannot undo that damning remark. For all practical purposes, it is a road plunged in darkness.