The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Reporter's Diary

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jan 02, 2007
ePaper

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Reporter's Diary

No end to suffering

There seems to be no end to suffering of the public at the railway level-crossing on Red Hills Road in Villivakkam. Local residents complain that there is a big pile-up of vehicles at the level-crossing during office hours. They do not know when an alternative to the narrow level-crossing will materialise. Several colonies are located on the northern side of the level-crossing, besides a few schools. School children say they have to leave home earlier than normal. Several motorists take the road abutting the railway station to reach the ICF Shell Link Road, which is in a battered condition. An additional problem is the garbage piled up on either side of the road.

M.S. Subbulakshmi honoured

While on a recent visit to Tirupati, it was a pleasant surprise to see the statue of M.S. Subbulakshmi in the temple town. More surprising was the way an autorickshaw driver heaped praise on the State politicians for not being parochial when it came to installing the statue of the legendary Carnatic vocalist, who is a native of Tamil Nadu. Though he said he had no knowledge of classical music, the driver said that looking at the statue brought peace of mind to him and added that he daily visited the place to have a glance at the statue.

On New Year Day, they throng beaches

New Year Day on Monday saw heavy crowds on the Marina Beach though January is generally considered one of those chilly months, even by Chennai standards. People thronged the beaches, the Kamarajar Salai and other roads along the beach from afternoon, reminding one of Kaanum Pongal Day. Buses leaving Anna Square were overcrowded with people hanging on the footboard. People spilled over onto the roads at bus stops and vehicular traffic was affected. Drivers generally clear the stretch from Madras University's Chepauk campus to Presidency College in less than five minutes. But on Monday, it took 15 minutes. Crowds thronged the Gandhi Beach and the Elliot's Beach also. Police regulated the traffic for several hours.

Maze of wires and cables

Look up the inside roads of T. Nagar, Triplicane or Mylapore. The skyline is a maze of wires and cables. Cable operators, private telephone and Internet providers all compete for the overhead space (see photo). They all use the Corporation's streetlights as a prop for their network. Residents say that workers of one of the agencies, who try to set right any trouble in the wires and cables, can cause trouble even advertently for the other services.

Contributions:

K.T. Sangameswaran,

R. Srikanth and

R. Sujatha

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