The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Reader's Mail

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jun 26, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Reader's Mail

Poor condition of MTC buses

Some of the MTC buses in the city are not in proper running condition. For reasons best known to the authorities, these buses are not repaired/repainted. It is strange that this should be so when the Government claims that its transport undertakings in general and MTC in particular are in sound financial health. It is very risky to travel by such buses.

The other day, I was travelling by a bus on route No. 49A between T. Nagar and Poonamallee. The cushions in most of the seats in the bus have come out, resulting in the passengers having to sit on wooden planks. In some of the seats, the backrests were missing with the iron rods protruding precariously. Besides, the said bus emitted a horrible noise when running, and spewing great quantities of smoke. The situation is no different with other buses particularly on route Nos. 49, 12C, M12B etc. In some other buses, water leaks from the roof of the bus during the rainy season.

I appeal to the MTC authorities to swing into action immediately and replace all such buses with new ones. Pending such replacement, at least the seats should be changed wherever necessary. After all it is a public utility service run on the taxpayers' money.

S. Jayabalan,

West Mambalam

Speedbreakers sought

Thousands of students pursue their undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral degrees here and hundreds of professors, scientists and staff live and work at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. The IIT Campus houses two schools, namely the Vana Vani Matriculation Higher Secondary School and the Kendriya Vidyalaya as well.

Many of the campus residents and school-going children living both inside and outside of the campus have to enter the campus via the In Gate and make their exit via the Out Gate of the Institute located on Sardar Patel Road. But the narrow stretch of road from the traffic signal at Kasturba Nagar Railway Station to the traffic signal at Cancer Hospital is a nightmare, especially for school-going children, senior citizens and those driving two- and four-wheelers.

Those who have to go to Adyar from the IIT Campus have to exit through the Out Gate, change lanes and take a U turn. But this is difficult because of the unceasing traffic.

In the interests of the students, staff and faculty, in particular the school children using bicycles to come to school, I request the authorities to erect speed-breakers, one near the In Gate and the other near the Out Gate of the Institute. This will go a long way towards improving the situation. Another solution is to construct a subway in this area. Early action in this connection will be welcome.

A.Ezhilarasi,

C1-11-26,15th Cross Road

Indian Institute of Technology Campus

Chennai-600 036

Train halt

at Tiruvallur

In spite of the fact that Tiruvallur is a District headquarters only 8 pairs of Mail/Express trains to and from Chennai Central stop at the Tiruvallur Station, forcing about 50,000 passengers a month to alight or entrain at either at Perambur or Arakonam junction, both of which are about 30 km away.

Stopping of Train Nos. 6627/6628 West Coast Express and 6041/6042 Alleppey Express at Tiruvallur would ease the hardships faced by the passengers.

V. Raghunathan,

Tiruvallur

Road overbridge

The road overbridge across the Tambaram Sanatorium railway gate is getting delayed, putting people to a lot of inconvenience.

In this regard I suggest that the number of vehicles coming from Bharatha Matha street at present should not be a parameter and keeping the future in mind, a landing on the Bharathamatha St is essential. But the vehicle traffic from this side to GST Road has to be made one way as there is no space to make a roundtana here. The vehicles coming from GST Road may travel over the ROB to the landing at Chitlapakkam Main Road and take a left turn below the ROB to reach Bharathamatha St.

A timely decision in this regard by the authorities will be much appreciated.

L. Sundararaman

President,

Chitlapakkam Muthulakshmi Nagar

Welfare Association

Plight of

litigant public

Magistrate's courts in the city are too small in size even for the lawyers who assemble there in large numbers. The litigant public attending courts, who outnumber lawyers have to wait outside the court halls endlessly for their cases to be called and heard, that too in the hot sun. As if this is not enough, there are no chairs for them to sit. Even lawyers are seen standing in the court halls. The government should make the courtrooms spacious and also provide chairs for lawyers and their clients .

K. Pradeep,

Mogappair

Removal of encroachments

On MTH Road, Padi Junction, construction of an overbridge is in progress. While the Highways officials (NH205) demolished the encroachments and compound walls of private factories on one side, officials have let encroachments on other side of this road stand. Why is there this kind of discrimination? Will the authorities remove all the encroachments from Padi MTH Road to Avadi and widen the roads?

G.S. Lan

Ambattur

Indifferent to the public's woes

The plight of the people of Anna Nagar West Extension is worsening day by day. Water logging during the monsoons is a perennial problem, since storm water drains have not been constructed while laying the roads. Moreover, the condition of the roads in this area is deplorable. The recent rains have made matters worse and the people using them cannot but criticize the Government for its indifference to their woes.

To cross the School Road at the junction of Jawaharlal Road is an ordeal. Worse still is entering the School Road from East Main Road.

The Second Avenue in `C' Sector is full of pits and potholes. This road connects East Main Road on one side and Park Road on the Western side, after crossing Third Avenue. The portion, which connects Park Road, is in a very bad condition for the past 10 years.

The Park Road can be renamed as Dark Road, as most of the lights are not functioning.

Further, one fourth of our area falls under the jurisdiction of Chennai Corporation and the rest under Ambattur Municipality. This is a great disadvantage to us.

P.B. Ramalingam,

Secretary, SCOPE,

Chennai-101

Automatic gear in

MTC buses

Most of the MTC bus drivers do not operate the gears properly This results in damage to the gears, and ultimately to the running of the bus. In most of the buses, the long gearshift often breaks while being used, incapacitating the bus and inconveniencing the commuters. As a solution, I suggest that an automatic transmission (if technically feasible) be introduced, at least in the new buses to be procured by the MTC.

J. Manohar Singh,

Adambakkam

Piped water supply to homes

Your report that piped water supply remains a dream in several areas (The Hindu, June 13) in the south should awaken the Government. Not only in parts of T.Nagar and West Mambalam, but in Ayanavaram, which is very near the Kilpauk water Works, Metrowater through pipe connections has remained a dream for residents! The residents have been paying water charges and taxes to the CMWSSB regularly but are still penalised. In spite of media reports and representations to the authorities, nothing concrete has emerged so far. The assurances of the CMWSSB have not been carried out. The Minister for Local Administration has also announced that he would soon order a number of new water connections in Chennai. Before doing this, the Government should call for a detailed report from the CMWSSB to ascertain the areawise availability of drinking water through household pipelines and create the necessary infrastructure for equitable distribution of water to all consumers.

V.R. Chandran

Vice-President

Exnora Innovators' Club, Ayanavaram

Inadequate

MTC bus services

At Ponniammanmedu, Madhavaram, Karpagambal Nagar and adjacent areas viz. Thanikachalam Nagar, Balaji Nagar and Brindavan Nagar, there are more than 1500 residents, with more residential units coming up. School going children and office goers find it very hard to get to their destinations because of the lack of sufficient buses.

The Metropolitan Transport Corporation has completely neglected this part of the City and with the spiralling auto charges, all are required to spend heavily on transport. In spite of repeated appeal to the transport officials, no action seems to have been taken.

Even when representatives of political parties visited our locality for canvassing during recent Assembly elections, requests for plying buses were made but in vain. Will the MTC take cognisance at least now and redress the grievances of the people by arranging for more buses?

B. Ravichandran,

Madhavaram

Adambakkam road needs attention

Karuneegar Street at Adambakkam, starting from near the St. Thomas Mount Railway Station, is very much akin to Ranganathan Street at T. Nagar. Many shops, big, medium and small, dealing in textiles, fancy goods, furniture, fruits, etc., in addition to eateries, and three Kalyana Mandapams are located on both sides of this street. Pedestrians and vehicles have to go via this road to reach the Railway Station and the subway.

Despite its importance, the road has been woefully neglected by the Alandur Municipality for reasons best known to it. The construction of drainage in this street has rendered the surface impassable now, with loose mud and a pitted, pockmarked surface. During the rainy season, it became highly slippery.

Recently, just before the Assembly elections, about half of this road was filled with red earth and blue metal, but it has been left unattended afterwards. The stones on the surface are scattered and now it is difficult for vehicles to pass through, resulting in heavy traffic on the Vellala Street. Will the Alandur Municipality arrange immediately to provide a pucca concrete surface to this street to enable free flow of traffic?

J. Manohar Singh

Adambakkam

Farmers' markets

On behalf of the residents, I thank the Tamil Nadu Government for reopening of the farmers' markets and saving it from the clutches of anti-social elements. However, the Ambattur Farmer's market needs improvement. I would like to make the following suggestions to improve the functioning of Ambattur Farmer's Market.

1. Every day, a lot of people visit this market to shop for vegetables but unfortunately only a limited quantity of vegetables are sold in this market. The Agricultural Department should hold talks with the farmers and ensure that vegetables are available in the market to meet the public demand and arrange for more farmers to bring their vegetables to the market.

2. The State Government should hold talks with the Railways to provide free transport for the farmers who bring their produce from lands situated beyond Tiruvallur; they may be provided an identity card and allowed to transport their vegetables free to the Ambattur farmer's market on production of the identity card.

3. A committee should be formed comprising farmers' representatives, consumers' representatives, and Government representatives, which should hold meetings every week and review the functioning of the market.

4. Powerful sodium vapour lamps should be installed inside the market.

T. Gunaseelan

Ambattur

Traffic signal near Perambur

I am a resident of Thiru Vi Ka Nagar near Perambur. The residents here would greatly appreciate it if a traffic signal is installed at the Agaram junction which falls on the "Paper Mills" road.

At the moment, it is a nightmare both for the vehicle drivers and even the traffic police during peak hours.

I trust the City traffic police authorities will act on the suggestion with dispatch.

B. Vivekanand,

Thiru Vi Ka Nagar

Action on piped water supply

Thendral Colony Welfare Association on behalf of about 265 families living in our Colony, expresses its deep gratitude for publishing news item pertaining to non supply of piped water by Metrowater "Residents allege poor water supply" (7-6-06).

On the very day the news was published, officials of Metrowater visited all the five streets and made enquiries with residents. By about 11-00 a.m. workers started digging a pit to assess the actual pressure of the water line in our colony.

The next day, (8-6-06), the officials dug another pit near 19th Main road. On 9-6-06, senior officials in the rank of Assistant Engineers and Superintending Engineer inspected the area and studied the supply position. They have promised the residents that piped water supply would be improved within 15 days as they have decided to carry out improvement works.

R. Padmanabhan,

Secretary,

Thendral Colony Welfare Association,

Anna Nagar West Need for speedbreakers

North Road of West C.I.T. Nagar serves as a link road for vehicles plying between West Mambalam, Saidapet and Ashoknagar and T.Nagar and Nungambakkam. The street is too narrow to handle the present volume of traffic. To avoid waiting at the traffic signal at the junction of Anna Salai and C.I.T. Nagar I Main Road, vehicles use third cross street and East Road to reach T. Nagar. North Road should be declared one way and speed breakers erected 10 feet in front of Nandhi Statue and 10 feet behind and at the entrance to the East Road.

P.S. Manian,

West C.I.T. Nagar, Ch. 35

Civic problems of

Sri Sankara Nagar

Sri Sankara Nagar consists of 41 streets of which 28th to 41st and 4th to 16th streets have no common electric light connection even though the Pammal Municipality is collecting house tax and other developmental charges from the residents. We request the Municipal authorities and Electricity Board to look into the matter and do the needful at the earliest. It is only now that the Municipal authorities are laying roads from 31st to 41st streets. These are long pending problems. Another problem is drinking water and it has been pending for years; most of the streets still have no drinking piped water connection.

We request that one or two common drinking water pipeline connections be provided apart from giving individual house water connections to cater to the needs of the residents. Now the municipality is collecting Rs. 5000/- as advance amount for giving individual water connections; in Sankara Nagar area most of the residents have paid the deposit amount. We request that the necessary action be taken to provide the area piped water supply connection immediately.

A. Annamalai,

President,

Sri Sankara Nagar Welfare Association,

Pammal

West Mambalam

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