Every time Velayudham Jayavel’s 12-year-old son steps out of the their house on Sivaraman Street to play, he is gripped by fear. He begins to breathe easy only after the boy returns home safe.
He fears miscreants could be lurking behind the many vehicles parked unauthorised along the street. The spray-painting workshops lining the stretch is also a source of worry to Velayudham.
To tackle a issues such as these, residents of this street have now formed Sivaraman Street Residents Welfare Association, which is expected to be formally registered in a week’s time.
Tucked away between Devanathan Street and St. Mary’s Road, Sivaraman Street, which is a cul-de-sac, is lined with 23 houses, many of which are independent dwellings.
Velayudham, a member of the Association, was motivated to improve the standards of the street after he attended a few meetings held by Arappor Iyakkam.
“Individually, we have spoken to the mechanics and asked the drivers not to park their cars on our lane. But all of us realised that this kind of individualistic effort wasn’t going to have an impact,” he said.
The 35-feet-wide road has been encroached upon by vehicles of cab drivers.
Sivaraman Street leads into Devanathan Street as part of a one-way traffic system which is often violated by vehicles.
As the entrance of this street is lined with welding, spray-painting and mechanic workshops whose equipment take up half the width of the road, residents find it difficult to walk there.
Recently, members of Thiruveedhi Amman Kovil Street Residents Association (TAKSRA), Mylapore Residents Welfare Association (MRWA) and Raja Street Residents Association addressed the residents of Sivaraman Street, urging them to work together to find solutions to the problems in their locality.
