Tamil Nadu   

Wanted: Urban Development Authority

It is really surprising that an Urban Development Authority has not been constituted so far for the area which comes under the Coimbatore Urban Agglomeration though it has a population of nearly 1.8 million. In towns and cities smaller than Coimbatore such as Vijayawada, Visakhapatanam, Tirupati, Palghat, Trichur, Calicut, Mangalore, Mysore and Dharwar-Hubli, development authorities were formed a few years ago. Coimbatore, which is more advanced than the above cities in all respects, does not have one. In a survey conducted by ORG-MARG and published in two prominent magazines of India, Coimbatore was listed among the top 10 tier II cities in India. Besides being a top manufacturing centre for textiles and textile machinery, auto components, pumps and motors, Coimbatore ranks second only to Pune among the tier II cities in India in facilities for higher education. Coimbatore has also some corporate hospitals offering high class treatment. Local industrial and commercial organisations and NGOs like R.A.A.C. and Siruthuli should prevail on the district collector, the Corporation Mayor and the Commissioner to take up the matter with the Chief Minister and the Minister for Municipal Administration and get sanction for Coimbatore Development Authority at the earliest.

P. Varadarajan,

Pankaja Mill Road.

When Thudiyalur came under the control of the Coimbatore Police Commissioner, residents of the fast growing Kavundampalayam area naturally expected that they would have an independent police station in their area. Crime rate in this area is increasing alarmingly with chain snatching and burglaries happening almost every day. Women in the west of Kavundampalayam do not dare go to temples or shops after 6 p.m. Our police force is efficient, though it is short of personnel to tackle such menace. Thudiyalur seems to have been included in the Coimbatore City police jurisdiction to solve this problem. Kavundampalayam is much larger than Saibaba Colony with its ever bulging population and proliferation of residential colonies. This warrants a separate police station at Kavundampalayam with a police outpost at P&T Colony on the west Idayarpalayam Road. P&T Colony is a vast area and chain snatching has become rampant here.

Raj Sethu,

Kavundampalayam.

Not a day passes without a report on smuggling of PDS rice and arrest of the rice smugglers. But subsequent information regarding the bigwigs behind it and the punishment given to the guilty is not made available to the public. This may encourage more people to indulge in the nefarious activity. PDS is meant for the poor and the downtrodden and anybody who spoils the system should be made to know the basic tenet of law – ‘Be you ever so high, the law is above you’.

B. Sripada Rajan,

NGGO Colony.

A lamentable development of late is the prohibitive increase in the cost of medical treatment. Middle and lower middle class people suffer as a result. As government hospitals are not easily accessible and are always heavily crowded, people are forced to approach private doctors or nursing homes where the charges are exorbitant. It will go a long way in helping poor patients if public health centres are opened in every ward to give treatment to patients who suffer from minor ailments such as cold, headache, cough, fever and small injuries which do not require x-raying, screening, surgery etc. Such centres can be manned by experienced graduate nurses who may be classified as grade II doctors. They may even be allowed to have private practice.

M.R. Pillai,

Rupa Nagar.

I travel from Coimbatore to Walayar every day. Journey through the L&T bypass is very comfortable. However, after that long stretches of the road are in a very bad shape, especially near Ettimadai and from KK Chavadi to Walayar. This is a route used by hundreds of cars, buses and trucks to Kerala and back every day. The road from Walayar to Trichur used to be equally bad. Repeated requests from the public have resulted in the improvement of the road in Kerala. But the road from KK Chavadi to Walayar continues to remain uncared for. Most vehicles have to struggle across the narrow remnants of the road. The motorists’ woes are compounded by the long queue of trucks virtually blocking the road in front of the Tamil Nadu RTO’s office near KK Chavdi. I am not sure whether this state of affairs is owing to the indifference of the State PWD or the National Highways department. Whoever is responsible, the travelling public and the drivers suffer. I hope authorities concerned will take necessary steps to remedy the situation.

Alice. K,

Civil aerodramme P.O.

The innovative spirit and endeavour of M. Abdul Razak (Jan. 4) in developing a wireless mobile charger should be lauded. It is a step forward in the world of mobiles. But he has more avenues to prove himself in the field. Long ago, big wall clocks adorned our drawing rooms. Their functioning was based on springs, keys and pendulums. Then time pieces came into existence. People wore wrist watches with springs and keys which had to be charged manually at least once in a week. But now we have clocks and watches run by batteries. Why not creative heads like Mr. Razak try for small battery cells, which will make the mobiles function for a long time, obviating chargers, wires, pluck points etc.

V.M. Velayutham,

Covai Mahalingapuram.

Immediately after Ganapathy busstand on the north-south Sathy Road there is a narrow east-west street known as Katta Bomman Street abutting Sathy Road which serves as an arterial road for residents living on all the sides of Kattabomman Street. There are more than 1,500 residential houses besides a number of small industries. There are schools, colleges, hospitals and various other commercial establishments in and around Kattabomman Street.

The entrance from Sathy Road to Kattabomman Street is dangerous since the width of the street at that point is less than 10 feet. Almost all the residents use east-west Kattabomman Street to reach Sathy Road where the Ganapathy busstand is situated. Vehicles plying during peak hours on north-south Sathy Road are innumerable and one has to stand for more than 15 to 20 minutes to cross Sathy Road from Kattabomman Street. And not a day passes without an accident involving people or vehicles. I request Inspector General and Commissioner of Police C.K. Gandhirajan to survey the area or depute his officers to assess the situation.

K.Palaniswamy,

Ganapathy.

I frequently pass through R.R. Layout and Hamsa Layout near Shanmuga Theatre in R.S. Puram. There are two hotels on these roads. These hotels are being run for the last six years without sufficient infrastructure. Customers of these eateries are forced to park their four wheelers along the ‘No parking’ side of these roads leading to traffic jams and accidents regularly. There are two hospitals in this locality. Once I happened to see an ambulance caught in a traffic jam. The police warned the hotel owners and had all the vehicles removed from the ‘No parking’ zone. But soon the vehicles began to be parked in the area and the police could not be seen anywhere near the hotels. These hotels do not have parking spaces as stipulated by government rules.

Venkatesh Kumar,

Gopala Puram.

Coimbatore Junction lags in many amenities. There is always a big crowd in the ticket booking counters. Extra counters should be opened. Construction on the west side is going at a slow pace. Many passengers are affected by this. Platform No. 6 has not been opened for service. Podanur-Coimbatore gauge conversion and Coimbatore north-Irugur doubling are moving very slow. This should be expedited and trains skipping Coimbatore should be diverted through Coimbatore after the gauge conversion. More trains should be introduced from Coimbatore. Terminal facilities should be set up in Coimbatore North Junction or Podanur Junction for this. Intercity express should be terminated in Coimbatore.

Chidambaram. S,

Tatabad.

Recently while buying a platform ticket at the Coimbatore Railway Station I enquired on which platform the Kovai Express would arrive. The man at the counter replied curtly “Enquire at the enquiries counter”. When I sought the information from a woman employee, she too gave me the same reply. Then I enquired at the enquiries counter where a woman sitting at a distance from the counter said something which was inaudible and incomprehensible. Disappointed, I went up the nearest platform and got the information. Railway staff should be helpful, service-minded and courteous.

The electronic board on the platform should indicate whether the time shown is arrival time (ARR) or departure time (DEP) of the respective trains to make the information clear.

S. Venkatachalam,

Kavundampalayam.

I must congratulate the Commissioner of Police, Coimbatore, for including Kovaipudur in the Coimbatore police commissionerate. The area near the railway station and in front of and opposite Hotel Devey has been declared ‘No parking area’ to regulate traffic.

This is certainly a welcome step. However, autos are allowed to park up to the railway police station. This inconveniences pedestrians, vehicle drivers etc.

The adamant auto drivers even park their vehicles by the side of the railway police station. The railway police do no take steps to stop this.

I request the Commissioner of Police, Coimbatore, to do the needful.

R.N. Rajan,

Kovaipudur.

Even though bus fare has gone up many times, there has been no improvement in facilities in the State express buses. On January 18, I went to Devakottai with my family members. Most windows and seats in the bus were damaged or under repair. Many aged people and children were waiting to travel at night. After heated arguments for nearly two hours, another bus came which provided little comfort.

The Government is taking steps to replace old buses in all routes, including town/mofussil buses.

But they are ignoring route number 603 which runs between Coimbatoe and Devakottai.

R.M. Palaniappan,

Covai Mahalingapuram. R eaders can mail to cbereaders@thehindu.co.in with address and telephone number.

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