Around Town 3MONDAY31 JULY 2017CHENNAI

The fate of the local body elections in the State remains unclear and for close to 10 months the civic bodies have been functioning without Councillors. In the seventh of the series News Today explores the ground situation at zones 11,15 of Greater Chennai Corporation.

NAOMI N & S BEN RAJAChennai, July 31:

Sholinganallur zone of Chennai Corporation covers wards from 192 to 200. Though one of the fastest developing areas of Chennai due to the presence of the IT corridors, residents said most of the civic works have been stalled or are going on at snail’s pace after the term of the councillors ended around a year ago. They also added that in all these months, they were not even able to get in touch with the offi cials.One of the major problems is the lack

of proper roads. Though the tolled OMR at Sholinganallur is maintained

wel l , most of the inner streets are in a bad state.Residents

a l s o complained

about the stagnant underground sewage w o r k s . K S i v a Subramaniam from Ezhil Nagar Welfare Association said, ‘There is slow progress in

underground sewage works. The Village High Road is choked at many places because of this. Even two-wheelers can no longer commute properly on this stretch. A couple of months ago, a biker fell and was badly injured when he hit a mud mound.’One of the long-pending issues

res idents face concerns the marshlands on Perumbakkam and Akkarai. ‘Both areas are heavily encroached and the houses built on them don’t have proper documents. But still residents continue to buy them as they are close to the IT corridor. As the buildings are built on loose soil, there are chances of their collapsing when a natural calamity like earthquake occurs. We forwarded our complaints to the councillors, but the authorities continue to give sanction for these layouts,’ alleged Perumal, a resident of the locality.He also complained about the stink

raised by Aavin milk factory. ‘The reason for the smell is the discharge of cattle waste into the pond close to Sathyabama University. Though the problem has slightly reduced in the last couple of years, it still remains unaddressed.’Sholinganallur’s traffi c is another

cause for worry. Though vehicles from Perumbakkam Main Road and Sholinganallur Main Road are diverted, problems still exist, especially during peak hours due to the buses of IT companies.‘There are two signals prior to

Sholinganallur junction to give more breathing space, but vehicles still cause traffi c jams at the junction. We have forwarded multiple petitions to the authorities to instal one more signal on OMR, but to no avail,’ said Senthil, who also resides at Ezhil Nagar and is a member of the association.‘We don’ t have a dedicated

community hall at Sholinganallur as the old one is used by the authorities. It would be better if the government built a separate community hall for us. If there were councillors, we would have forwarded this request to them but now we have to approach the offi cials,’ he added.Shol inganal lur MLA Aravind

Ramesh pointed to the lack of contact with officials. ‘Assistant

engineers are transferred every now and then and it’s very diffi cult to know who is in-charge of the area. The public need to be told their phone numbers to easily approach the offi cials if they have a problem. Regarding the smell from the Aavin milk factory, I have strictly instructed offi cials not to discharge waste into the pond and now the problem has greatly reduced.’‘As fa r as marsh lands a re

concerned, we decided to set up a waste and effl uent treatment plant at Perumbakkam but, unfortunately, in the last minute, the Forest Department claimed ownership of the land and construction was banned. I raised the issue in the Assembly. Secondly, the present set-up of traffic diversion at Sholinganallur junction is the best that authorities can do at this point of time. After the civic elections were cancelled, I made my numbers public on social media and through fl yers. We try to resolve as many problems as possible,’ he added.The MLA said, ‘Chennai Corporation

is not co-operating properly with me. In the last one year, they had not sanctioned any work even for Rs 10 lakh. I keep receiving complaints of bribery as well.’A Corporation offi cial, said, ‘As the

government doesn’t have any other building in the locality, we are currently using the community hall. But we are in the process of acquiring a new building for the offi ce.’

NT BureauChennai, July 31:

The busy, ever crowded MTC stop at Saidapet (near Todhunter Nagar) is in trouble as frequent eve teasing incidents are reported here. The mess shoots up in evenings when girls of nearby schools reach the stop to board buses and are targeted by offenders.Very recently, a young woman was

victim of one such incident, but had the guts to defeat the intention of her offenders.Narrating the trauma, she said ‘I was

standing at the stop around 5 pm few days ago, when a group of three teenagers came near and one of them asked me to give way despite the huge space available around me.When I retaliated strongly about

their ill-intention, they started using abusive language and moved away.’‘Not ending up with that, one of them

threw an empty bottle near just to make me panic. Thankfully, another woman commuter who stood nearby also joined me in scolding them,’ she added.On an enquiry with few commuters

at the shelter, it is understood that this is not an one time incident as these kind of elements often trouble the girls of whom not many are ready to retaliate without hesitation.When matter was taken up with

Saidapet Police Station situated just opposite, a police woman said ‘A team is always on patrol in the area and anyone who notices suspicious movement of eve teasers should call 2345 2577 immediately to alert us.’Another senior police offi cial pointed

out that they have started to train girl students of government schools with self defense methods and insist them to boldly complain about such offenders.

TEN MONTHS OF TENSION

NT BureauChennai, July 31:

When Chennai grew up in size in 2011 from a mere 174 sq km to 423 sq km, annexing the nearby municipalities and town panchayats, residents of Maduravoyal, Nolambur, Porur, Ramapuram and Valasaravakkam had a reason to celebrate.

Their areas would form a n e w z o n e i n t h e Corporation - zone XI (Valasaravakkam), which means, they w i l l e n j o y c i v i c privileges as that of a metropolitan city.But the benefits

did not kick start immediately after the extension of t h e C o r p o r a t i o n l imits, but took its time. The main civic infrastructure, which the erstwhile municipalities a n d p a n c h a y a t s w e r e awaiting, was the storm water drains in all the 13 wards (143-155) in Valasaravakkam zone.It took three years for the drain

works to be taken up in full swing till the initial works began in 2014.But three more years after the

works commenced, and taking a few lessons from the fl oods in 2015, the zone is now partially covered with the drain network, the effi ciency of which will be put to test only by the monsoon.According to G Bhimrao, former

MLA of Maduravoyal constituency, only 45 per cent of the areas in

Valasaravakkam zone is provided with storm water

drains. ‘The works are left incomplete across the area. And there are no neat sewerage connection, as a result of which many residents divert the i r sewerage connection illegally into the storm water drains,’ he says.The need for a

local counci lor is felt when the illegal

outlet of waste water goes unchecked near

Nolambur. Absence of a local representative has even forced the residents to resort to online petitions to get their grievances addressed.According to an online petition

star ted by a resident, Balaj i Srinivasan, on Change.org, 10 to 15 tanker lorries, which carry waste water from households, let the water into the storm water drains and lakes along the Chennai bypass in Nolambur.‘The untreated sewage water

destroys the fresh water bodies and pose a huge health hazard to the communities living in the neighbourhood, ’ the pet i t ion

reads. The petition addressed to Municipal Administration Minister S P Velumani and Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami has gained 64 supporters so far.Apart from the storm water drains,

civic ignorance is apparent with the acute water crisis, lack of LED streetlights and shoddy solid waste management are prevalent. The entire zone has just one community hall at Ponni Nagar, Karambakkam, which receives no patronage from people. The hall has no t been b o o k e d e v e n once this year.A proposal made

by the Corporation in 2014, to make Valasaravakkam zone ‘binless’ by promoting door-to-door collection of garbage has been forgotten over time. Though the Corporation’s

council passed a resolution in September last year, to relay 490 roads across the zone, several stretches still remain neglected. Roads in Ramapuram are an example.‘For any new proposal, a push

from the local councilor is need to make sure that the project does not lose steam,’ said K Muralidharan, a resident of Porur.‘A councillor is the person whom

the residents feel comfortable approaching with their grievances. Now tha t the re i s no ward representative, the special offi cers appointed by the Corporation must at least conduct regular meetings with residents to hear grievances and discuss about the civic progresses made,’ Bhimrao says. ‘Since we do not have a councillor

now, we depend on the Corporation’s helpline 1913 to report our problems,’ said Gurumurthy, a resident of Nolambur.

ZONE 11: Valasaravakkam� Vacuum in works

New in the area� Tenders to construct primary health care centres at Sakthi Nagar

in Valasaravakkam, Bajanai Koil Street in Ramapuram and Perumal Koil Street in Nerkundram have been fl oated.

� Four compost yards at the burial grounds at Alapakkam Main Road, Alapakkam Cross Street, School Road in Valasaravakkam and Gandhi Nagar in Karambakkam have been proposed.

ZONE 15: Sholinganallur� Councillors missed sorely

Residents say that in

the absence of the councillors,

they are dependent on online

petitions and the Corporation’s

helpine 1913 to report their problems.

AREAS COVEREDZone 11: Wards 143-155Zone 15: Wards 192-200

TROUBLED TRACK

Motorists fi nd it diffi cult to use the Ambattur Third Main Road after it was dug up for the storm water drain works. Commuters want the offi cials to re-lay the road and construct median to ease traffi c.

NT BureauChennai, July 31:

The Hindustan Group of Institutions recently recognised 50 achievers across various f ields for their contribution to the betterment of the society.A press release said that awards

were given to the members in the presence of Member of Parliament K V Thomas, Justice P Jothimani during the golden jubilee Celebrations of the institution. The release stated that the awards were instituted in the name

of the institution founder, late KCG Verghese.

Hindustan Group of Institutions, chairperson, Elizabeth Verghese,

said ‘It is a great honour for us to have institute these awards in the name of our Verghese, whose vision has raised our institutions to such great heights. we are pleased to recognise and honour 50 eminent personalities who’s contribution to the society has made a difference in all our lives.’The group had recognised peoples

cont r ibu t ions across var ious categor ies such as, l i fe t ime achievement, research, academics, corporate, women, sports, youth and community.

Hindustan Universityhonours achievers

IN THE LAST ONE YEAR

Regarding projects started in the last one year, he said, ‘Work wil l start soon for phase-2 of Metro Rail work connecting Sholinganallur with Madhavaram. We are also in the process of laying roads in a few streets and the process takes place as and when funds are sanctioned.’ The official dismissed the corruption charges of residents.

Triggering tension at Todhunter Nagar� Women passengers allege incidents of eve teasing at MTC stop at Saidapet

Mass chantingNT Bureau

Chennai, July 31:Chennai Group

o f V i s h n u Sahasranamam Manda l i s w i l l organise mass c h a n t i n g o f Vishnu Sahasranamam on 2 August at 10 am at Goshala, Sankara Math, Kasi Viswanathar Koil Street, West Mambalam.A press release said the event

is organised on the auspicious occasion of star birth day (anusham) of Kanchi Mahaperiyava. For details, contact 95001 77505.

Gnaneswari pravachanam

NT Bureau

Chennai, July 31:Sri Raghunath Das Maharaj will

render ‘Gnaneswari pravachanam’ till 15 August, daily at 6.30 pm at State Bank of India building, Prakasam Road, near Panagal Park. For details, contact 94441 59124.

Award winners along with dignitaries during the golden jubilee celebrations of Hindustan University.

Todhunter Nagar bus stop