‘Tamil Street’ loses its sheen

The locality has nothing to boast about. Perhaps this is one of the main reasons why the neighbourhood has slipped down to a nondescript locality from a popular landmark. As one ventures further, it is a tough task to trace anything positive about the colony except the recently laid UGD pipelines.

September 17, 2014 01:17 am | Updated June 28, 2016 06:28 pm IST - VISAKHAPATNAM:

A view of the Tamil Street in Visakhapatnam. Photo: A. Manikanta Kumar

A view of the Tamil Street in Visakhapatnam. Photo: A. Manikanta Kumar

As you pass through the congested lanes of the little neighbourhood known as ‘Tamil Street’ in China Waltair, it is difficult to keep your nose uncovered.

The entire locality stinks as every lane is lined with open drains that have a steady stream of sewage. The flow is at times interrupted when residents dump the domestic waste in it. Just adjacent to the drains, women wait in queue to fetch drinking water or buy groceries from the ‘kirana stores’ that dot the area.

Although Tamil Street retains the flavour of a different era, it bears a picture of utter neglect due to inadequate civic amenities and improper maintenance in every aspect. Dilapidated buildings, littered roads and disorganised garbage system and open flow of drains are some the issues that the residents have to put up with for decades.

Once a landmark

Perhaps this is one of the main reasons why the neighbourhood has slipped down to a nondescript locality from a popular landmark. As one ventures further, it is a tough task to trace anything positive about the colony except the recently laid UGD pipelines.

About seven decades ago, the place was spotted by a group of Tamil migrants, including Tam-Brahms, Muslims and Christians, who converted the area into their home. “There were only a few thatched huts and semi-pucca houses then. While some of them have left, disposing of their properties, a few of them continued to stay here for generations,” says Mahadevan Manoj Kumar, a colony resident. What is further disturbing is the fact that despite several professionals and officials from different departments, including GVMC, residing in the colony, there is hardly any sign of progress in terms of sanitation and upkeep of the colony ever since its inception.

“The charm of the place is gradually fading away due to varied reasons. It is unfortunate to note that people are so cocooned in their own world and those who come forward to add value to the maintenance of the colony are not able to sustain for a longer period,” laments G. Hari Gopala Rao, a retired Deputy Superintendent of Police and a resident of the area for the past 18 years.

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