he sight of the Adyar river flowing over the Saidapet bridge following the deluge last December remains etched in the minds of most residents of the constituency, which was among the worst affected areas of the city.
“We watched helplessly as water flooded over 600 houses here and then had to run to an under-construction building nearby for refuge. We stayed there for two days and nobody came to help us out,” says K. Devika, a resident of the government farm area near Todd Hunter Nagar.
The residents of Surya Nagar in Kotturpuram have similar tales of horror, and many are apprehensive about the resettlement process as they do not know how it will impact their livelihood.
“This is the first time we have faced such floods and we are now being asked to move to Semmenchery. Most of us work as domestic helpers nearby and our children have been enrolled in good private schools nearby,” rues A. Karpagam.
The candidates vying to represent the constituency in the Assembly are also focusing on the damage caused by the floods. Pointing to the lack of drainage facilities in the quarters built for government servants, DMK candidate and former Mayor M. Subramanian says they have since been lying empty.
“The AIADMK government said that the housing complex can have septic tanks. In such a central area, why is impossible to provide drainage lines? We will provide for it and ensure that the people can move into the residential complex if voted to power.”
BJP candidate V. Kalidass too voices the need to improve storm water channels in the area so that in the future they mitigate the impact of heavy rains and floods.
Political legacy
Saidapet — the home to the affluent, the working class, and squatters who live on the banks of the river — holds a special place in the State’s political history as DMK president M. Karunanidhi was elected from there in 1967 and 1971.
Though over the years the voters have swung between the AIADMK and the DMK, the ruling party emerged victorious in the last two elections. To keep its hold over the constituency intact, the AIADMK has fielded former minister and four-time MLA C. Ponnaiyan.
