It is essentially a three-cornered contest in Velachery constituency, which is making its debut in the Assembly Elections 2011.
M. Jayaraman of the Pattali Makkal Katchi, a constituent of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-led front, M.K. Ashok of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Thamizhisai Soundararajan of the BJP are among the candidates who are in the fray.
Their campaign has been intense. The PMK candidate, who resigned as councillor of Bhimannapet ward in R.A. Puram area to contest the election, is banking on development works undertaken by the Chennai Corporation. The AIADMK candidate, a Velachery resident, says he will be able to articulate the problems and issues of the constituency better.
BJP candidate Thamizhisai Soundarajan is wooing voters with her promise of making Velachery a ‘Model and modern Velachery.' A medical practitioner, she has prepared a manifesto taking into account various issues in the five wards that make up the constituency. She has been highlighting civic problems such as mosquito menace, corruption and traffic congestion.
Also in the fray is E. Sarath Babu, who contested as an Independent candidate for the Chennai South constituency in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. Mr. Babu a successful entrepreneur with postgraduate degree in management from the IIM – Ahmedabad, is contesting this time too as an Independent.
He secured around 4,420 votes from the Velachery segment in the Lok Sabha elections. Quality education, good governance, employment generation, infrastructure development and clean, green and citizen-friendly Chennai form part of his campaign.
The Velachery constituency is made up of Divisions 151 to 155 of Chennai Corporation – Adyar West (Division 151), Adyar East (152), Velachery (153), Thiruvanmiyur West (154) and Thiruvanmiyur East (155).
Apart from being happy that there is an Assembly constituency in the name of their locality, the residents of Velachery hope that it will also help in getting the civic issues addressed faster.
“We have got an identity of our own and expect that there would soon be solutions to the issues, including encroachments, traffic congestion and inundation during monsoon,” says S.Damodharan, a resident of Brahmin Street.
S. Kumararaja, secretary, Federation of Velachery Welfare Associations, says it is nice to see candidates speaking of issues affecting the locality and promising various infrastructure projects in their campaign. In the last nine to ten years, the candidates, irrespective of their political affiliation, did not pay adequate attention to these issues. Velachery was previously part of the Tambaram constituency.
Once a village with vast tract of farm lands, Velachery is not a planned residential layout like Anna Nagar, Adyar or Jawahar Nagar. Though a part of the Chennai Corporation for over three decades, the infrastructure development has not kept pace with the growing population and construction. Though realty prices have appreciated manifold in the last decade, Velachery suffers on account of traffic congestion, narrow interior roads, indiscriminate conversion of residential properties into commercial properties, and flooding during the rainy season.
Mr.Damodharan said that the construction of the Velachery surplus course for carrying excess rainwater from the Velachery lake and the formation of the bypass road are the only major infrastructure development in the area since 2005. In the past one year, however, the civic body has initiated steps to construct stormwater drains, pave several roads, develop parks and widen the arterial Taramani Link Road.
A fire service station, a full-fledged government hospital and the shifting of the Velachery bus terminus near the MRTS station are among the demands of the people.
R. Satish, a resident of west Velachery, points out that road connectivity between the eastern and western parts of Velachery has been yet another long pending demand.
In other parts of the constituency too, traffic congestion is an issue be it Adyar, Besant Nagar or Thiruvanmiyur. Though there are well-planned housing layouts in these localities, the redevelopment of individual houses into multi-storeyed apartment complexes has meant more vehicles using the roads. Mosquito menace is another common complaint.
H.Vembu, member, Padmanabha Nagar Residents' Welfare Association, says the rise in the number of vehicles on the road also meant more pollution and need for measures to ensure safety of pedestrians, particularly morning walkers. The residents also want more playgrounds. The need of the hour in Thiruvanmiyur is to find solutions to ensure smooth flow of traffic near the Thiruvanmiyur bus terminus, on East Coast Road and the LB Road junction.
The total electorate of the Velachery constituency, as per the final rolls published on January 10, 2011, is 2,17,026. There are 1,08,725 men, 1,08,275 women, and 26 transgender. There are 251 polling booths in this constituency.
What they say
M.K. Ashok , AIADMK candidate: I would take steps to deepen and desilt the Velachery lake. Several plots designated as open space reservations which are occupied by encroachers would be retrieved and developed into parks and playgrounds. Also steps would be taken to construct a burial ground for Muslims who have no such facility in any localities in south Chennai.
M. Jayaraman , Pattali Makkal Katchi candidate: I will take forward the Chennai Corporation measures to extend the stormwater drain network as a solution to the flooding problem. Priority will be given to speed up the construction of the subway-cum-flyover project at Thiruvanmiyur junction and to give pattas to residents of Mahatma Gandhi Nagar in Taramani and V.V. Colony, Shastri Nagar and NGO Colony in Velachery.
