A colonial ‘high road’ that has bypassed growth Premium

Chittoor's High Road history, current congestion, and future development challenges highlighted by residents and political leaders.

Between 1911 and 1920, a British engineer, binoculars in hand, stood on a railway bridge and looked across a road that ran through Chittoor village, then the district headquarters. Pointing at the road, he reportedly remarked, “This is the High Road.”

Perhaps intending to refer to it as the ‘main road’, he unintentionally ended up christening it.

“Our High Road in Chittoor, with over a century of colonial history, holds a significance comparable to Mount Road in Chennai or Marine Drive in Mumbai. Originally planned to be 100 feet wide, the road now ranges from 30 to 50 feet over its 6-kilometer stretch. This inadequate width has caused severe traffic congestion, affecting daily commuters and the town’s connectivity and overall image,” says Parvathareddi Parthasarathy Naidu, an 83-year-old former municipal councillor and social worker. A resident of Chittoor for six decades, he says completion of the planned road widening is long-overdue.

For the younger generation, the High Road is merely a congested yet relatively wider street in the decade-old Chittoor Municipal Corporation limits. Many youth feel that, with the city’s modest population of 1.2 lakh, there is little urgency to widen the road.

“What we urgently need are jobs, jobs, and more jobs. Once someone completes their Intermediate or Degree, they won’t stay in Chittoor even a day longer. They head to Bengaluru or Chennai to earn a living. What’s the use of a wide road without jobs?” asks Prem Kumar, a final-year B.Tech student in Chittoor, who plans to move to Bengaluru soon.

For Chittoor’s denizens aged 40 to 80, the High Road remains a landmark of the city, as it continues to serve as the vital link to Vellore, Chennai, and Tirupati. While the Tirupati-Bengaluru NH bypass has alleviated traffic congestion by over 70% within city limits, the Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway is also progressing rapidly. “Once this is completed, Chittoor may remain a corporation on paper, but it will essentially become a village,” says Magesh Kumar, 27, a software engineer from Chittoor now working in Bengaluru.

Against the backdrop of these contrasting public views, the history of the High Road offers an intriguing perspective to an outsider, who may rarely pass through the city’s streets. A cross-section of residents expresses frustration, with some admitting that “Chittoor must be the most backward district headquarters in India, with the worst road infrastructure.”