With just a few days ahead of Lok Sabha elections, candidates from the political parties are gearing up to woo voters with their promises. The neighbourhood, too, witnessed the campaigns of a few contestants in the past few days.
While NEET abolition, separate budget for agriculture, waiving educational loans, free rail service for students and return to old pension scheme attracts people-at-large, people of the locality have a set of issues that require attention and want them to resolve as soon as they assume power.
Speaking about the problems, United Forum of Nanganallur Associations vice-president, Sridhar Bulusu, said, “Our sole agenda is to bring a solution to the perplexing property tax. In our neighbourhood, whoever built a house between 2011 and 2018, the Basic Street Rate (BSR) rate has been fixed at Rs 2.24 but for the rest of the population in the city, it is less than Rs 2. The corporation officials have exorbitantly increased and literally burns a hole in the pocket.”
In addition to it, the locality is devoid of infrastructural facilities since the past many years. Shedding light about it, Kannika Nagar, Lakshmi Nagar Third Stage and Union Carbide Colony Residents Welfare Association secretary, K S Venkataraman, said, “The representatives promised of laying underground electric cables, till date it the wires are overhead, this is one of the major issues for which we are seeking a solution. The zone was sanctioned of conversion of sea water to drinking water and has not been materialised yet.”
He further speaks about the problem that is occurring for not linking the Pazhavanthangal subwat with Fourth Main Road and requests the officials to complete the MRTS line from Vanuvampet to St Thomas Mount.
Much recently, Balakrishnapuram Kudiyiruppor Nala Vazhvu Sangam, represented by president M Saravanan and secretary S Anand handed over a letter containing their concerns to a few candidates.
“Financial aid of Rs 50 lakh was already sanctioned to desilt and create a walking track on Adambakkam Lake, it is yet to get over and the officials have not completely evicted the encroachers of the lake. This is something that we want the representative look at as the city is facing a severe scarcity,” Saravanan said.
Pointing out to other issues, Anand said, “There is a rail under subway at Thillai Ganga Nagar and we want the elected candidate to look at building a rail-over-bridge there that helps to commute without any hassles. The next key issue is the road-widening project from Jayalakshmi Theatre to NGO Colony bus stop stretch which is pending for over 18 years, causing bottlenecks during peak hours.”
While the residents are demanding the long-standing problems, here is Voltas Colony Residents’ Welfare Association secretary, Kumaravel, who highlighted the developments in his area. “There has been a lot of infra progress in the past few years. Parks were formed and street lights have been fixed. Supplementing the efforts taken by officials, the welfare association has carried out sapling-plantation activities giving our neighbourhood a breather,” Kumaravel said.
However, he pointed out to the water problem and added, “The government is taking measures to solve the scarcity and currently they are working to help the tail-end localities get water which we hope to be done soon.”