Founder of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and three-time Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran won from Alandur when it was known as ‘Parangimalai’.
Back then, the area was imbued with a pastoral flavour. Now, it has attained an urban character, but it still faces a raft of problems, many of which one doesn’t normally associate with an urban space. The area is facing commuting problems and water scarcity, especially during summer, and traffic problems on main roads. These are among key issues that residents have brought to the attention of contestants approaching them for votes.
Merged with the Greater Chennai Corporation in 2011, this Assembly segment has St. Thomas Mount- cum-Pallavaram Cantonment Board, Gowl Bazaar and Moovarasanpettai village panchayats of St. Thomas Mount Panchayat Union.
In addition, there are areas which display a diversity of features, including Manapakkam, Mugalivakkam, Moulivakkam, Ayyappanthangal, Kolapakkam, Gerugambakkam, Kovur, Thandalam, Erandamkattalai, and Periyapanicheri.
A Nanganallur resident, Latha Ramanujam said she had noticed an improvement in the quality of roads. Even water supply had improved, she added.
“However, more attention should be given to the lack of bus connectivity to the main roads. Crime prevention should be another area of focus. Frequent power interruptions pose a challenge to residents,” she said.
Issues unaddressed
Alandur may be a part of Chennai Corporation, but it is only on paper, say social activists. A large area of Alandur constituency comes under Greater Chennai Corporation’s jurisdiction since 2011. But some major civic grievances, including one that is 15 years old, remain unaddressed.
Many residents have rued the fact that despite Alandur constituency offering them only battered roads and poor water supply, they still pay Rs 6.50 per sq. foot as property tax.
Moovarasanpettai residents have been urging the State Government to have their area merged with the Greater Chennai Corporation as the village panchayat is unable to cope with the growing needs of residential colonies.
Residents of Thiruvalluvar Nagar, Mugalivakkam, have complained that during monsoon each year, excess water from Porur Lake inundates the residential localities for three months.
Once a lifeline of agriculturalists in Adambakkam and Nanganallur, Adambakkam lake has shrunk in size due to encroachments.
The lake beautification project, which includes setting up of a walkers’ path, is a 15-year-old demand.
“While neighbouring Pallavaram Municipality has several government hospitals, including the National Institute of Siddha and a general hospital, Alandur constituency lacks a government hospital. Corporation heath centres do not have many facilities and do not include major departments,” says V. Rama Rao, a social activist.
“Pazhavanthangal subway should be renovated so that the bottleneck on 4th Street, Nanganallur, can be avoided. According to Indian Roads Congress, no subway is permitted with a bend at the start,” said V. Subramani of Traffic and Transportation Forum.
The Alandur constituency was formed in 1977 (it was earlier known as Parangimalai, St. Thomas Mount) and in the ten elections so far, the AIADMK has won five times and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, four times.
In 2011, Panruti S. Ramachandran (then with DMDK) defeated K. Gayathri Devi of the Indian National Congress by 5,754 votes.
In the 2014 by-elections, AIADMK’s V.N.P. Venkataraman defeated former four-time Alandur Municipal Chairman R.S. Bharathi of the DMK by a margin of 18,708 votes.
The constituency has seen an increase in voter strength from 2.39 lakh to 2.97 lakh in 2011 and to 3.41 lakh voters in 2014.
This time, AIADMK has fielded veteran S. Ramachandran again. Former Labour Welfare Minister, T.M. Anbarasan of DMK, R. Srinivasan of PMK, Dr. S. Sathyanarayan of BJP and U. Chandran of DMDK are contesting the elections along with eight others.
