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Far from the crowd

Tirunagar, a model extension area for town planners to emulate

SPACE FOR EVERYTHINGSprawling, compact and self-contained PHOTO:G.MOORTHY.

Unique and well planned, thy name is Tirunagar. The very name of Tirunagar conjures up images of perpendicular roads, eight bus stops and well laid out streets. It has the pride of being the first approved layout according to the rules laid down by the then civic authorities in 1947.

The unique feature of the area is the centrally located Anna Park, a ground and a community hall around which there is a joggers' path.

Wanting it to be a posh area, the promoters, Raman Chettiar and others, formed a housing society, which has become defunct now, divided 120 acres into four divisions - 31 cent plots, 21 cent plots, 10 and a half cent and seven and a half cent plots, says S. Venkatachalapathy, president of Lions Club of Tirunagar Town.

Even in the layout, separate places were earmarked for temples, hospitals, theatres, parks and playground and 40-foot and 80-foot roads. There are no vacant sites here because Tirunagar is a fully developed area, proudly says C. S. Vadivelu, another resident.

Memorials

Perhaps, it is the only place in Madurai where two memorials are found: one is the house where Muthuramalinga Thevar spent the evening of his life and the home of Tamil scholar Ilakuvanar. Besides, a huge edifice of Chitrakala Studio, which served as a production centre for Tamil films, though it has turned into a godown now, adds to the grandeur of the area.

Tirunagar is very much self-contained with its numerous matriculation schools and three aided schools, 24-hour multi-speciality hospitals, two theatres with car parking facilities, says C. Muthuraman, secretary of Lions Club of Tirunagar Town. He says as far as medical facilities are concerned, Tirunagar residents have a choice between allopathy and other systems of medicine.

Clubs

The area also has a wide range of active clubs such as Lions Club of Tirunagar Town, Rotary Club of Tirunagar, Civic Exnora Tirunagar, Civic Exnora Pandian Nagar and Three H Club funded by an individual, M. Subramanian, who conducts a free homoeopathy clinic on Saturdays and Sundays. There is Humour Club of Triunagar and Tirunagar Recreation Club, which offers indoor games and tennis. There is also a meditation centre run by devotees of Sri Aurobindo. The Unemployed Young People's Association of Tamil Nadu Theological Seminary is at the service of unemployed youth.

"As far as shopping is concerned we need not go out of Tirunagar except for jewellery and textiles. Every thing is available in this self-contained area," says Mr. Venkatachalapathy.

Tirunagar, located on the highway, comprises 15 wards and 142 streets with an approximate population of 15, 547. The streets are named after national leaders. City bus services connect it with all important destinations.

Library

To cap it all, there is a Government library, which has a very active 'vaasagar vattam.'

Water is never a problem for Tirunagar residents, as the area is surrounded by Thenkal Kanmoi in the east and Nilayur Kanmoi in the south besides Semmattan Kulam, says Mr. Vadivelu. Employment opportunities galore because of the presence of Seethalakshmi Mills and others industrial establishments, which are located within a radius of five km.

Though it was developed on an area of 120 acres, various parts of Tirupparankundram panchayat were merged with Tirunagar panchayat which resulted in the extension of the area, says R.L. Balaraman, chairman, Tirunagar panchayat.

Tirunagar has a woe. It is the absence of underground drainage. But the residential area has been structured in such a manner that rainwater never stagnates and gets drained naturally.

Though historically Madurai is known for its town planning there is growing criticism of unplanned urbanisation and expansion in the belt areas. However, Tirunagar is a case in point and a model extension area for future town planners to emulate.

S.S.KAVITHA

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