Monsoon fear haunts Chennai

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People of Perambur, the gateway to North Chennai, who have had to put up with bad roads since the last monsoon, which left them severely damaged, are now worried the coming northeast monsoon could worsen their condition.

Take the arterial Paper Mills Road, connecting Perambur, Kolathur and Ayanavaram with the 100 Feet Road (Chennai-Kolkata national highway), which is riddled with potholes and has shrunk, thanks to encroachments by commercial establishments. “Travelling on this narrow, but busy road is a harrowing experience,” says Mr Rozario, a senior citizen.

In fact, several interior roads of Perambur have not been freshly tarred for over five years, lament other residents.

“The condition of Raghavan street that connects Paper Mills Road and Madhavaram high road is pathetic as it has not been re-laid for more than five years now.

Neelam garden street, Maria Nayagam street and Andiappan street too have remained an eyesore for over five years,” says Kamalakkannan, who lives in the area.

“Looking at the roads, it is hard to believe that we live in a metropolitan city. Every time we reach home safe we feel lucky considering the potholes we encounter on the roads.

The stagnating water only makes their condition worse,” rues Gnanadesikan, a septuagenarian, who rides his two wheeler on the Paper Mills Road.

“How can this area be neglected so much when the authorities are constantly talking about a ‘singara Chennai?’ he protests.

Leptospirosis scare in Ambattur

As monsoon nears, residents of Ambattur are worried over the problem of growing rodent menace. They are worried over the spread of water-borne diseases and lament that the corporation officials have turned a deaf ear to their repeated complaints.

Shweta, a resident of Korattur, says stormwater drains are stuffed with garbage, which has turned into a breeding ground for rats.

The rats even enter the homes and bite the wires and cables. It is spreading a scare across the area as they also contaminate the food items, which could result in people becoming victims of leptospirosis and other infections, complain residents of Varadharajapuram and GMG Street that are highly infested by rodents.

The menace is out of control especially in areas like Korattur as restaurants in this area dump their waste inside the stormwater drains which in turn get clogged and invite rodents to feast on the waste. “The main problem is the uncleared garbage in our area.

Huge mounds of garbage can be found near schools and railway station which cause several health hazards,” said Mohan, district secretary of Uzhailpor Urimai Iyakkam, who is a resident of Ambattur.

He also added that the situation would get out of hand and there is fear of children falling sick if the corporation officials do not step in immediately and make efforts to clean the area.

Rising cost sees civic contractors abandon projects

People residing in the low-lying areas of the recently-annexed suburbs may have to wade through water this monsoon thanks to the contractors staying away from stormwater drain works citing inflation and high input costs.

The unchecked inflation, steep hike in input costs of building materials associated with the recent fuel price rise has not only affected the common man but also forced contractors to stay away from government projects.

Despite the government and city corporation sanctioning over Rs 100 crore for the development of Ambattur which was recently merged with Chennai corporation, at least 40 per cent of the fund remain unutilised as the contractors are staying away from this zone, said confidential sources.

A majority of the engineers of Chennai corporation, particularly in suburbs recently merged with the civic body, including Ambattur, Maduravoyal and Manali, are finding it difficult to get contractors to undertake various government projects in and around Chennai.

“Earlier, we would line up behind the engineers to get a contract as it would fetch good money and the work was hassle-free, but things are no longer rosy,” opined a contractor engaged in road and stormwater drain works for the past 12 years.

“Besides competition, finding labourers has become difficult and migrant workers brought from other states are often picked up by the police for enquiry and this has also affected our trade,” opined an engineer-turned-contractor.

Collector, CoP get notice on widening road/b>

The Madras high court on Monday ordered notice to the Chennai district collector on a public interest litigation which sought a direction to authorities to widen Paper Mills Road running from Perambur church till Retteri junction on both sides so as to enable smooth plying of traffic on either sides.

A division bench of Chief Justice M.Y. Eqbal and Justice T.S. Sivagnanam also ordered notice to the Chennai corporation commissioner and commissioner of police and posted after four weeks, further hearing of the PIL filed by L.T. William Moses, a resident of Thiru Vi Ka Nagar.

According to the petitioner, through the Paper Mills Road, one can go to all four directions towards Anna Nagar on the south, Kodungaiyur on the north, Kolathur on the west, besides Parry’s on the east. The area in and around Perambur has become residential hub. There are many schools in the area.

Now, the entire stretch of Paper Mills Road is flooded with commercial buildings on either side. These commercial buildings have been constructed in total violation and deviation to planning rules and building construction rules.

The entire stretch of Paper Mills Road is used for plying both government transport buses, private lorries, automobiles and bi-cycles.

On an average more than three lakh vehicles ply on the road. Therefore, the entire road is bustling with heavy traffic round-the-clock.

The police authorities are finding it difficult to maintain smooth flow of traffic and to remove the traffic congestion, he added.

He said in 2010 the Perambur flyover was constructed. Even though the government formulated plans to widen the approach road, particularly the Paper Mills Road, the idea was dropped. As on date, Paper Mills Road between Perambur church and Retteri junction is barely 40 ft wide.