Chennai: Changing skyline

When I went to Chennai on August 2006, I found a lot of differences. The trademark congestions, traffic jams, and strewn garbage were still there, but the rate at which new things had come up was just too amazing. Living in Chennai all my life, the changes seemed normal. But seeing it after an year, I was struck down by the changes. It was a surrealistic feeling, as the old familiar places blended in with their new foregrounds: new buildings, roadways, etc., It looked as if Chennai received a huge facelift in an year.

New flyovers are being constructed at the Cathipara, Koyembedu, and Padi junctions. A six lane IT Highway (formerly the Old Mahabalipuram Road) is coming up. The 'MIT' flyover at Chromepet, which never looked like being completed when I left in September 2005, was fully functional. A series of new malls. Hordes of Toyota Innovas, which is just unbelievable, considering the fact that they were not even in the market in Sept 05, and in Aug 06 one in every 3 cars in Chennai seemed to be an Innova. GST Road (NH 45), connecting Chennai to the southern cities, sported a completely new look (seen on the picture ).


A project in the pipeline for Chennai, which if it comes up will change its face forever, is the proposed Metro train. Estimated at a whopping budget of Rs.7129 crores, the Metro train would be a unique addition to Chennai, as it is planned to be a partly elevated and partly underground service.

These and many more changes being ushered in, is truly putting Chennai on the World map. No wonder major Automobile manufacturers and companies like Samsung are competing for space to set up their plants in Chennai!