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V MUTHUKUMARAN
Chennai, Jan 17:
 
 

S Elangovan and S P Muthuvel, Councillors of Ward-65 and 129,  receiving the  tipper tricycle being donated by the SB Staff Colony Residents  Welfare Association  for garbage clearance in Virugambakkam.

        For decades, long-time residents and welfare groups at State Bank Staff Colony were put to hardships as this locality is divided between two Corporation wards 129 and 65 of zone 8 and 5 respectively.

        A plethora of civic problems arises due to the bifurcation of this area into two wards as one has to run from pillar to post to solve burning issues like garbage clearance, bad roads, poor sanitation and Metrowater-related woes.

        Take the case of garbage clearance and disposal: While Onyx, the private contractor, does the job regularly on a daily basis at the Saligramam area of SB Staff Colony comprising 41 houses, another equal number of houses falling under Virugambakkam (ward-65) have to suffer from accumulated waste and refuse on their streets and bylanes as the private agency does not have jurisdiction in this part of the colony.

        'For want of manpower, vehicles like lorries and tricycles, and an extended jurisdiction in ward-65 till Koyambedu, Corporation had expressed its inability to clear waste dumps and refuse at Virugambakkam zone of SB Staff colony on a daily basis,' said R Narasimha Raghavan, president, SB Staff Colony Residents Welfare Association. Hence, this 34-year-old civic group had approached the State Bank of India at Chinmaya Nagar which through its Local Head Office had come forward to donate a tipper tricycle under the Community Service banking.

        At a function recently, SB Staff Colony RWA presented the tricycle to S Elangovan, Ward-65 Councillor, who had earlier mooted this idea for the Conservancy staff of the Corporation to undertake door-to-door garbage clearance, including kitchen refuse, on a daily basis. Presenting a list of their grievances, Raghavan urged the Councillor to address issues of non-burning of street lights in the colony, bad roads hampering smooth travel for residents to and from the locality, and the grave issue of mounting garbage at the Virugambakkam area of the colony due to negligence by Conservancy staff. Massive flooding was a regular feature during monsoon as many streets lacked a proper storm water drains (SWDs) to siphon off stagnant water.

        A plea was made for MTC services from Dasarathapuram to halt near Sooriya Hospital for the convenience of elderly commuters. Given the ever-rising traffic in the locality, the Councillor was urged to set up footpaths on all bus route roads (BRR) for walkers to have a safe passage. With growing stench near a toilet in Dasarathapurm bus depot, office-bearers called for renovating the bathroom at the earliest for commuters and neighbours to walk freely near the site.

        In his address, Elangovan confessed that the civic agency was hampered by lack of manpower and machinery to involve itself efficiently in Conservancy works like garbage clearance. There were 425 streets, 35 nagars (or colonies) and 16 slums in ward-65 that extended from Virugambakkam to Koyambedu, a vast area outside the city limits. At present, there were eight and three Corporation lorries in the morning and evening respectively undertaking garbage removal and disposal in this ward on a daily basis. The number of tricycles would move up to 24 after the new vehicle was inducted into service.

        Once the reconstitution of MLA Constituencies was taken up by March - April 2007, Elangovan assured the colony would be resized to come under one ward. 'The entire Villivakkam Constituency having five wards now would then come under city limit after the delimitation exercise,' he informed.

        On a bigger project of widening the Kaliamman Koil Street that linked the Arcot Road with B-Road at Koyambedu, he said Local Administration Minister

        M K Stalin and the Mayor were being taken into confidence and this critical subject would be taken up at the Council meet. 'Already a cost estimate for widening K K Street was done in 1996. But as the project involved removing patta-land, buildings and encroachers involving compensation for evictees, the intervention of the Chief Minister is necessary for the road widening project to take off smoothly,' Elangovan explained.