For several years now, people in Anna Nagar housing colony and Police Colony in Navalpattu panchayat have been suffering from inadequate bus facilities and civic amenities.
There is nothing much that Navalpattu panchayat could do to these colonies sprawling over several hundreds of acres, but residential localities keep springing up in adjacent areas sharing the already diminished amenities.
In a practical sense, these colonies are urban conclaves ensconced by Sholamadevi, Kumbakudi, Gundur and Navalpattu villages, and hence do not stand a chance to be merged with the city limits. However, the modicum of urban environ is confined to middle-class people residing there and the underground drainage system.
Otherwise, the interior roads appear pathetic with a plethora of potholes, and the condition of streetlights is deplorable, according to representatives of residential associations in these localities.
The only hope for the several thousands of residents of Anna Nagar and Police Colony is the attention the IT Park in the vicinity receives from the government.
The hope of residents is that things will get better once the construction of the link-road from Gundur on Tiruchi-Pudukottai national highway that is now under construction gets completed.
A 100-feet road to a length of about five kilometres that was already laid by Tamil Nadu Housing Board decades back is being re-laid by the State Highways Department at the initiative of Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu. Last year, the ELCOT saw through handover of the road by Navalpattu and Gundur panchayats to the State Highways Department, and the work commenced during the latter part of October. Going by the pace of the work, the project could be completed by the end of March. The process of laying culverts at three places along the stretch is in progress. But, bus services to the city along the newly-laid road could prolong further.
Construction of a high-level bridge across a wild stream running across the path a little beyond the third kilometre from Gundur could take more than a year from now. Bridge construction work, according to official sources, is being carried out under the aegis of NABARD (National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development).
“Better late than never. The link road is the only hope for Anna Nagar and Police Colony. At least, we will have better bus services. As for other amenities, we definitely deserve a better deal as the localities were initiated as a dream project of former Chief Minister MGR for making Tiruchi the second capital. We sincerely hope that Chief Minister Jayalalithaa will fulfill her mentor’s wish,” said Shanmugam, a pensioner residing in Anna Nagar since its inception in the 80’s.
