Ward 38 is among the smallest in the city in terms of area. Moreover, with the locality crisscrossed by railway tracks and dominated by slum tenements, the officials of the Chennai Corporation find it a tough task to maintain better civic amenities including garbage clearance, proper roads and sanitation.
But as the ward comes under the R.K. Nagar constituency represented by Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, the officials of the civic body have been taking several steps to improve the civic amenities in these once-neglected parts of north Chennai by constructing stormwater drains, relaying roads and developing new parks.
S. Santhanam, Councillor of Ward 38, said while the majority of the area is occupied by slum tenements including Annai Sandhya Nagar, Tamizhan Nagar, Vinoba Nagar, Sastri Nagar, Nehru Nagar and Rajasekaran Nagar, more than 150 roads have been relaid. Also, the civic body has developed one of the biggest park in Nehru Nagar, which was inaugurated by Chief Minister Jayalalithaa recently, at a cost of Rs. one crore. The civic body has been taking steps to prevent water stagnation in the ward by desilting stormwater drains and constructing new stormwater drain networks, he added.
However, residents of VOC Nagar complained about overflowing sewage water being a major health hazard.
M. Nataraj, a long-time resident of VOC Nagar, citing the overflowing drainage water on Ilaya Mudali Street, wanted the authorities to prevent letting of sewage on the road. He also said residents could not go to the park at Nehru Nagar in the evenings due to infestation of snakes and other reptiles.
A senior official of Tondiarpet Zone, under whose limits the ward falls, said at present the stormwater drain network is being constructed on Ilaya Mudali Street and once the work was over, it would be linked to the channel carrying rain water to Ennore Beach. And once the stormwater network was completed, there would not be any drain water stagnation thereby easing motorists’ access to Tiruvottiyur and other areas, he added.
