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Community hall on Kamarajar Salai at Virugambakkam is engaged throughout the year for social and religious functions. Photo: K Vijay Anand

        If at all one needs a show-piece model to highlight that Corporation do care for the social well-being of the public, then community halls will speak eloquently of the welfare objective of the civic body.

        During the first tenure of Local Administration Minister M K Stalin as city mayor (1996-2001), a number of community halls were set up that served as a cost-effective platform to host social, religious and personal functions. Located on Kamarajar Salai at Virugambakkam, the community hall (under ward-65) is being maintained well and employs three security men working round the clock in shift. Occupying a huge space, the single-storeyed building is most sought after by the middle and lower classes at Virugambakkam. 'Having turned a burial ground into a building of immense value to the public, the Corporation has done a praiseworthy job here. We need more such buildings that could bring social value to the community. There are many wasted and poromboke land that can be used to set up community halls, libraries and other amenities of public value,' says V Selvaraj, owner of Shanthi Stores, right opposite the hall. Throughout the year, the hall is being occupied for one function or other and hence, a boon to those who cannot afford private halls that levy exorbitant rents, he informs.

        Though inaugurated in 1999, the community hall got into full steam only in late 2001. The rent for a 24-hour programme at the hall is Rs 3,700 and for small events of eight hours or so, the charge is Rs 1,850. With spacious rooms and an elaborate dinning hall, the Corporation hall is booked for most part of the busy season — 14 January to 28 Feb (Thai month in Tamil) and again during September in which marriage season falls.

        However, the watchman Sundaramoorthy as a long-standing grouse. Nearby flats and high-rise buildings dump garbage on the vacant land near the hall in the night. 'Though we clean it up as much as possible, at times the accumulation of filth and household waste is too much to bear up with,' he complains. On one side of the compound wall, an amalgam of waste dumps, rusted metal sheets and boxes, wild growth of jungle weeds and clump of dwarfish trees create an avoidable eyesore, close to the hall.

        Long-time habitants call for effective use of the vacant land near the hall to enhance public comfort or social good of the people living here. Given the wide space of the hall, P Suresh, a cine musician at Baskar Colony, says a portion of the vast interior can be used as a free dispensary or a clinic for treating the poor suffering from epidemics like malaria, chikungunya and other viral diseases. 'Located in a prime area, the community hall serves as a cheap platform to host social functions and personal occasions. But the same facility should be used to take care of the healthcare of the poor who cannot afford treatment at private clinics,' he reasons.

        His brother Arjun, an instrument player, extends further: MTC buses which are now parked near Jaigopal Garodia Government Girls High School have to be removed from there and the fleet of buses can be stationed on the vacant plot next to the hall. 'In fact, the vacant land is enough for setting up a bus terminus at the locality which lacks an MTC stand,' he argues.

        Corporation should come forward to construct a parking bay on the unused land to accommodate two-wheelers and cars that are left behind on the roadside blocking traffic during big fetes at the community hall, avers

        N Chandrasekaran, secretary, Baskar Colony Residents Welfare Association. 'They can also convert the wasted plot into a green park which will benefit the locality.'

        There is already a proposal to make use of the land near the community hall for public cause. 'We have forwarded the plan to build an institution that will be of value to the neighbourhood. More details will be released once the final plan gets the approval from the higher-ups in the Corporation,' said T Enian, Assistant Engineer, ward-65. But he adds due to shortage of land, it will be difficult to set up a few more community halls — a public amenity in demand at Virugambakkam.