The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Readers' mail

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jun 07, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Readers' mail

Better condition

Sir, — The West Mambalam main post office at the corner of Postal Colony III street has been spruced up and is now well ventilated. The stamp counter has been shifted to a place near the entrance making ample room for the users inside the premises. There is a separate counter for the pensioners. It is far better than the previous location on Varadappan Street.

S. Varadarajan,

West Mambalam

* * *

Fee for footwear

Sir, — The Tamil Nadu Government's order not to collect money from devotees for keeping their chappals in temples, comes as a `varaprasadam' (boon). Though the rate is fixed by the temple for the safe keeping of chappals, the contractors were hitherto fleecing the devotees.

At Dharmasthala in Karnataka, some 10,000 devotees are fed everyday at noon and so also are more than 5,000 devotees at Sri Krishna temple, Udupi. At both these places, there are no caretakers. Devotees keep their footwear anywhere they like. No footwear is stolen.

N.V.R. Swamy,

Adyar

* * *

Unbearable workload

Sir, — On May 22, I went to the K.K. Nagar Post Office, for sending an article by Speed Post to Jalgaon, Maharashtra. I was told there was no service to Jalgaon. Then I decided to send the article by Registered Post. Speed Post, Registered Post, Money Order and telephone bills are all handled in one counter. About 60 persons were ahead of me in the queue. It took an hour and 20 minutes for me to reach the counter. There were 7 to 8 senior citizens like me in the queue. Other counters were relatively free. I request the officials concerned to distribute the work evenly.

S. Mahadevan,

K.K. Nagar

* * *

Irrational

Sir, — My grandmother, (76) was allotted an upper berth when she booked a ticket in the Chennai-Dadar Express. Should not the ticketing authorities accommodate elderly passengers on lower berths on their own, without asking for a request for the favour from the passengers, especially when they know the age of the passengers?

K. Pradeep,

Mogappair

* * *

Waiting for relief

Sir, — We, the residents of 9th Sector, in Karunanidhi Nagar have been living with frequent power failures and wild voltage fluctuation. Time and again we have brought this to the notice of the Assistant Engineer, Electrical Engineer, TNEB, K.K. Nagar. We were informed three months ago that a new transformer has been sanctioned for erection in the sector. We still continue to experience the horrors.

Residents of 9th Sector,

K.K. Nagar

* * *

Suggestion to TNEB

Sir, — It is indeed a welcome sign that a substantially reduced tariff for domestic consumers has been introduced with effect from June 16. If the reading of the domestic meter is taken on June 16 the work of revision from that date will be minimised and the revised tariff can be applied from that date.

T. Manickavel,

Chennai

* * *

Will trade benefit?

Sir, — The sudden and substantial downward revision of power tariff for domestic consumers to what was in vogue before December 2001 though unexpected is most welcome.

Will the benefit be extended to industries and trade also?

T. K. Subramanian,

Nungambakkam

* * *

Welcome news

Sir, — The report that the Chennai Telephones are switching to six-day week work schedule with holiday on the second Saturday of the month is a welcome news (The Hindu of June 2). This can be adopted by other Central Government undertakings also. The State and the Central Governments which have a great deal of work to do, can also revert to the six-day week system which will be beneficial to the general public.

S. Bakthavathsalan,

Guindy

* * *

Footpaths nowhere

Sir, — The passengers alighting from buses at the Vadapalani bus stop, on the western side of 100 feet road (Jawaharlal Nehru Road) are finding it difficult to reach the Arcot road and beyond, since there is no pedestrian pathway on this stretch. The road here is narrow. Encroachments and parked vehicles force the pedestrians to the middle of the busy road. With the opening of CMBT, the vehicular traffic on the 100 feet road, in the heart of Vadapalani has increased enormously. But there is no footpath on either side of the 100 feet road on the stretch from Arcot Road to Nerkundram road also. It forces thousands of pedestrians, including children, women and the aged, to walk on the road.

R. Krishnamurthy,

Saligramam

* * *

BSNL not bothered

Sir, — I recharged my mobile Phone No. 94441 73064 on April 7. But the BSNL did not activate incoming calls. I lodged a complaint on April 8 and followed it up with the authorities. They activated incoming calls on April 12. This delay imposed a lot of hardship.

I wrote to the C.G.M./ BSNL on April 19 to enquire into it and sought refund of the charges for the six days the BSNL took to act. The CGM did not even reply after the receipt of my registered letter on April 21.

M. Megavannan,

Chromepet

* * *

Potential danger

Sir, — The TNEB pillar supplying high voltage 33kV/ 11kV/ 660V/ 440V/ 220 installed on the Patel `Poonga' Road, near Otteri is now in a very dangerous condition. The high voltage pillar-box has been without a door and a lid for the last one year. Several representations sent to the TNEB authorities have had no response. In the evening sparks occur from the pillar box. During rainy season, the situation worsens. Once again I request the authorities to fit the door properly or replace the defective pillar-box with a new one.

M. Ganesan,

Perambur barrack

* * *

Switch to old terminus

Sir, — The buses on route no. 38F from Mylapore tank to Madhavaram are now plying from Luz corner (Kamadhenu theatre) without any valid reason. The Ramakrishna Mutt Road is unmotorable only from Mandaveli junction. There is no reason why 38F buses cannot be operated from Mylapore tank.

T.N. Sridharan,

Mylapore

* * *

Cause of accidents

Sir, — The saddening news of `Teenager killed in mishap' (The Hindu of May 10) raises several doubts.

It is common to see teenagers, who work in automobile repair shops rashly driving two-wheelers on their `test run' after repairs.

Parents seem to pamper their teenage children by buying them two-wheelers without being aware of how dangerous it is for their children.

Do such drivers get driving licence from RTOs and if so how? Many gruesome accidents occur only because of non-adherence to rules.

T. M. Sundararaman,

Mylapore

* * *

Post office sought

Sir, — The E.D.P.O. at Purushothama Nagar in Chromepet is not centrally situated. There is no post office at Hasthinapuram which is a thickly populated residential area. Residents have to walk a long distance, to buy postal stationery, send money orders and letters by registered post.

They have to either go to the Purushothama Nagar E.D.P.O. or the one on Ramachandra Street. The Postal department is requested to open at least an E.D.P.O., to serve the people of Hasthinapuram.

K. V. Sivaswamy,

Chromepet

* * *

Operate more buses

Sir, — The public, especially the residents of Anna Nagar and its surrounding areas, had great expectations when the Anna Nagar railway station was opened. But the response is disheartening. Commuter patronage and train frequency are poor.

The main reason is the lack of approach facility to the station. The transport authorities can ply a few mini or regular bus services, worked out to suit train timings. The buses should cover areas like Mogappair, Anna Nagar West extension and Padi.

K. V. Sankara Narayanan,

Anna Nagar West

* * *

Hoping against hope

Sir, — The pensioners who retired between April 1, 1996 and March 31, 1998 are well past 60 and are hoping against hope to get their dues.

They have incurred huge loans at exorbitant interest that have more than doubled in the last 7 years, anticipating release of their dues or have planned the marriage of their children.

The Government will do well to release the entire amount due to the pensioners with interest accrued thereon in one go.

M. Y. Sheriff,

Triplicane

* * *

Emulate the north

Sir, — The Indian Oil Corporation Limited has chosen a chain of reputed nominated hospitals in Chennai. They are a blessing, particularly to the company's ex-employees, aging fast and ailing.

But no special consideration is shown by these hospitals to the senior citizens, whereas elsewhere in the north, nominated hospitals allow 20 p.c. discount on consultations, 10 per cent on hospitalisation expenses, 15 per cent on all investigation charges etc. Will our Chennai nominated hospitals kindly take the lead in this regard, in the south?

K. N. Narayana Pillai,

Mylapore

* * *

Run more BG services

Sir, — It is notified through the media that the metre gauge EMU services on Egmore-Tambaram section will be suspended from July 1 for gauge conversion.

So, the Southern Railway should increase the BG EMU services to cope with the rush of travelling public during peak hours, especially with more coaches in each unit.

It will be of immense help if fast and slow suburban locals are introduced as in Mumbai.

V. Suryanarayanan,

Ambattur

* * *

(Letters for this column can also be sent by e-mail to letters@thehindu.co.in with full postal address. They should be marked `Reader's Mail.')

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