Relatives of accident victim block Chennai bypass demanding a flyover and underpass at Sanjeevi Nagar

Traffic between Palpannai and the bridge across the Cauvery on the Chennai-Tiruchi National Highway was blocked for nearly an hour on Friday evening after some people resorted to a road roko demanding construction of a flyover and an underpass at Sanjeevi Nagar junction

Traffic between Palpannai and the bridge across the Cauvery on the Chennai-Tiruchi National Highway was blocked for nearly an hour on Friday evening after some people resorted to a road roko demanding construction of a flyover and an underpass at Sanjeevi Nagar junction.

The police said N. Vignesh, 26, a hotel worker and a native of Panayakurichi, was severely injured while attempting to cross the road at Sanjeevi Nagar junction on January 11 and was admitted to Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital in Tiruchi where he died on the night of January 18. The body was handed over to his relatives after an autopsy on Friday.

Meanwhile, his relatives and a section of road users resorted to a road roko on the Chennai-Tiruchi National Highway on Friday evening. They staged a sit-in protest by blocking the road with the body of Vignesh.

The protest lasted about 40 minutes. The protesters demanded construction of a flyover and an underpass at the Sanjeevi Nagar junction. Traffic on the busy highway came to a standstill for about one km on either side of the road.

Officials from the Revenue Department held talks with the protesters. They promised to bring the issue to the notice of the District Collector, following which the protest was called off.