Chennai - Point Zero

Have you ever realised where Chennai actually begins? I think about this everytime I see the milestone that reads Chennai 55 Kms or Chennai 131 Kms. Some say it's the distance from Parrys while some say its from the Central station. Here's an account of my task on tracing where Chennai's "0 Kilometer" lies.

An article in The Hindu sometime back clarified my doubt. As per the article, Chennai's Zero Kilometer is located on the Muthusamy Bridge which is at the end of the Poonamallee High Road well after Central station. The P.H Road splits into two, the left takes you to High Court/Parrys while right takes you on the Muthusamy bridge. Geographically, this road is also close to the 3 major roads that Chennai has viz, NH4 (Poonamallee High Road), NH 45 (Mount Road and GST Road) and NH5 (Highway to Calcutta).

This bridge was about 45 minute drive from my house. On my way to the bridge on a crisp Saturday morning drive, I caught a glimpse of few more Chennai xx Kms milestones which would have otherwise gone unnoticed since they are placed among the hustle-bustle of the crowded city road. While on the bridge, it was not hard to spot the milestone that reads "Chennai 0 Kms". I feel this place lacks the importance and grandeur considering this is where Chennai actually begins.

Courtesy:

http://www.hindu.com/2007/06/17/stories/2007061755800300.htm

How it began...

Just like any normal Chennai "city"zen, I used to crib and whine looking at the shortcomings and poor implementation of Chennai traffic and related systems. Traffic somehow happens to be the single biggest problem every major metro in the world has to face albeit with different facets.

It was last year unexpectedly that I got interested in studying Chennai traffic and think about alternatives to overcome those shortcomings. It began when I had applied for PGSEM course at IIM-B. Having cleared the cut-off in CAT, I was shortlisted for the interview for which I had to prepare an SOP "Statement Of Purpose" document. It was a 5 part SOP in which the last question asked, "Which was one issue really dear to your heart?". Going by the nature of IIMs, I wanted this issue to be out of my profession or academics and something that addressed a social cause. I gave few topics some serious thought, but the issue about traffic irregularities kept coming back to me. More so with the fact that one such accident had indeed altered my personal life to a great extent.

So that's when I decided that the issue closest to my heart would be Chennai Traffic irregularities. But I hadn't done enough research or analysis to substantiate my contribution to Chennai traffic which was still in its infancy. Needless to say, I didn't make it through the IIM-B interview. But as a result I cultivated immense interest in studying and understanding the Chennai traffic system and thus was born this blog on Chennai Traffic Woes.