The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Railway colony now a picture of neglect

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, May 20, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Railway colony now a picture of neglect

K. Manikandan

As houses crumble, anti-social elements rule the roost

NEGLECTED COLONY: A dilapidated house in the Railway Quarters at East Tambaram. — Photo: A. Muralitharan

TAMBARAM: What was once among the most well developed and neatly planned localities is today reduced to a place for accumulation of garbage and dirt. With very little maintenance, houses in the Southern Railway Quarters in East Tambaram are crumbling and are nothing more than a refuge for anti-social elements.

The Railway Quarters was established after the laying of electrified railway line between Tambaram and Chennai Beach in the late 1930's and 1940's. The sprawling railway colony grounds served as an open space not only for railway employees and their children, but to hundreds of men, women, youth and school children in the neighbourhoods.

Offering decent accommodation at very low rentals, it was a boon for employees of the Southern Railway. But over the years, it started to decay with very little attention being paid to it. Most of the group houses on the northern fringe of the quarters are unoccupied. And in the absence of occupancy, it is the perfect hideout for anti-social elements.

Poor maintenance

Southern Railway sources said alternative arrangements were made for the occupants and with the increase in house rent allowance, the families themselves decided to move out to better houses in the neighbourhoods. Even in those areas where families have stayed back, there is very little maintenance of the houses.

Dense outgrowth of bushes has taken over and in the lack of earmarked places, heaps of garbage could be seen almost everywhere. The railway ground too needs urgent attention and repairs, residents in the quarters said.

With Tambaram emerging as one of the most important hubs, the development of quarters for employees was as much important as improving facilities for passengers, the residents said.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail