The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Bundle of woes in north Chennai areas

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Apr 18, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Bundle of woes in north Chennai areas

Swahilya

VOC Nagar in Tondiarpet, Anna Nagar in Korukkupet present case studies in neglect Pleas for basic amenities including drainage system in vain

SIGN OF APATHY: Sewage from a broken pipeline at Vaidyanatha Mudali Street, Tondiarpet. — Photo: V. Ganesan

Chennai : The near sub-human living conditions at VOC Nagar in Tondiarpet and at Anna Nagar in Korukkupet typify the apathy of the administration, which is manifest in several wards in north Chennai.

What is during daylight a gaping manhole without a lid in the middle of the Anna Nagar Main Road in Korrukkupet turns into a potential death trap at night. The hole is partly covered with two rectangular strips of cement.

"No one is aware of the open manhole, especially at night," a resident said, pointing out that a man fell inside recently and hurt himself in the process. The road at VOC Nagar leading to the bus depot is in a shambles. Several protests staged by residents with a demand to level the uneven and bumpy road surface have gone unnoticed. S. Krishnan, chairman of the Sindanai Sirpi Singaravelar Meenavar Samudaya Sabai, a welfare organisation for fishing families living in the area, said, "our demand for a proper road is more than four years old.

However, there is no sign of the authorities providing even basic amenities."

The condition of the road just outside the Castrol company is also bad. The title of `blot on the landscape', however, will be appropriate for the large open ground nearby, which is a receptacle of sewage water and garbage.

A two-wheeler mechanic on VOC Nagar's Idaiya Mudali Street K. Jayakanthan points to an open drainage, which is overflowing and teeming with flies and mosquitoes. "This drainage has remained the same for 10 years. Our complaints for a proper drainage system have been in vain," he said.

The garbage in several parts of Tondiarpet and Korrukkupet has apparently been untouched by conservancy workers for days together. Adding to the uncleared garbage in the area are the thatched roofs of the houses cleared by the civic authorities sometime ago. While new amenities are a rarity, what is distressing to residents is the inordinate delay in fixing a breakdown in an existing facility.

Until recently, the sewage line in Vaidyanatha Mudali Street, Tondiarpet, was broken owing to a constant movement of heavy vehicles, particularly oil tanker lorries. Residents said the breach was sealed only five days ago.

Overflow from the sewerage lines is a recurrent problem in these parts and no permanent action has been taken in this regard, residents complained.

Mr. Krishnan said several streetlights in VOC Nagar were not working.

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