No other ward, perhaps, poses as much challenge as Ward 32 for the Coimbatore Corporation as it has seen a jump in status.
This sums up the need of the areas that fall under the Ward, which covers Vilankurichi. This is the second biggest ward in terms of area and perhaps population as well, says Ward Councillor and East Zone Chairman K. Jayaram.
The ward extends from VIP Nagar, off Vilankurichi Road, in the south to VKV Nanjappa Nagar in the north and one-and-half to two km on both sides of the Vilankurichi Road, spread over 18 sq.km. Managing the area is not the biggest challenge for the Corporation but catering to over 20,000 residents, who reside in the typical village set up of Vilankurichi and also the well-developed Cheran Managar-like areas, is.
In doing so, the Corporation has to double-up its efforts because Vilankurichi is the only local body that has had a triple jump from a panchayat to a Corporation.
This jump has come with benefits as well in that the residents saw the quantity to water supplied go up drastically from 1.9 million litres a day to 4.3 million a litres a day.
In the past three years, the condition of roads have improved, albeit partially. The Corporation has laid main roads but not those passing through residential colonies. Considering the size of the ward, the road work will remain one of the civic body’s biggest challenge, says G. Samsudin, a resident of Cheran Managar.
The Councillor only admits. Fifty per cent of the Ward is yet to see new roads, he says and adds that work to build new roads is on. Thus far, Corporation has spent around Rs. 2 crore on roads
While laying the road, the Corporation must give priority to areas that haven’t seen a bitumen-topped road, says V. Rajendran of Vilankurichi.
Conservancy worker shortage in solid waste management programme is another challenge for the Corporation as the area needs 120 workers but the availability is only around 40. This has impacted the collection in that the workers clear the waste only every two or three days.
Street lights is another area of concern. A study says that Ward 32 requires 500-plus lights. Corporation officials say that like any other added area Vilankurichi too has to wait as a policy decision has to be taken to light added areas.
