The Dr. Radhakrishnan Nagar (R.K. Nagar) Assembly constituency, with a largely working-class population, had received special attention since 2015 as it was represented by former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa.
A former legislator reels out statistics to drive home the point that the constituency was well cared for during Jayalalithaa’s time, “Around 75 bitumen roads were laid in the constituency at a cost of ₹4.94 crore and 249 cement concrete roads were laid at the cost of ₹16.38 crore. We installed 6,030 LED street lights. We set up a sub-station producing 110 Watt electricity. We have also begun work for a flyover on EH Road-Manali Salai at a cost of ₹117 crore. We are creating an eco-park spread over six acres built at a cost ₹9 crore since we couldn’t get CRZ clearance to resettle those in the slums.”
The AMMAA water scheme has also been implemented in wards 39, 40, 41, 42 and 43.
That’s not all. When Jayalalithaa was the Chief Minister, she ensured that funds were allocated for the construction of two buildings to house a government arts and science college and a government polytechnic college in the constituency.
All these developments happened in the last 18 months since Jayalalithaa won the byelection in 2015 and the Assembly election in 2016.
Recently, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami too signed an order to construct houses for fishermen, which was promised by Jayalalithaa during her 2016 election campaign.
However, Sekar, a local CPI(M) functionary, and a resident of VOC Nagar, said that one of the major demands of the people — allotment of housing board homes — has not been met.
“There are more than 2,000 homes in which people have been living in for decades. These are small homes which are not more than 300 square feet lacking basic facilities such as proper sewage connection and drinking water. Yet, the government is unwilling to allot these homes; instead, it has increased the rent from ₹20 to ₹250, which has not gone down well,” he said.
Water scarcity too is becoming a big issue in the area. “On top of it, sewage water mixes with normal water. The government doesn’t desilt at all. Petty crimes have increased. For instance, there are streets in which you can’t take out your mobile phone and speak freely without youth on bikes attempting to snatch it. The police also complain that they are short-staffed,” he charged.
There are complaints that the working-class men end up spending all their earnings in liquor outlets.
While several people The Hindu spoke to had a favourable view of the work done since Jayalalithaa began representing the constituency, they also said that the cash that the parties are likely to shell out will continue to play a huge role in the election. “They [voters] may have their personal likes and dislikes, but money plays a huge role. For the working-class population, few hundred rupees is a significant amount of money,” said a woman working in fish market.
