Residents, along with many Councillors, raised several civic issues at the grievance redress meet held at the north zonal office near here on Tuesday.
Mayor Indrani Pon Vasanth, Corporation Commissioner Simranjeet Singh Kahlon and Zone II Chairperson A. Saravana Bhuvaneswari were present.
AIADMK Councillor of ward 20 C. Nagajothi Chidhan, who came with a handful of petitions, was among the 75 petitioners at the meeting.
“We feel our ward is neglected and lacks basic amenities. I submitted a total of 11 petitions including a request to approve a proposal to install CCTV cameras, street lights in my ward under ‘Namakku Naame’ scheme and to take up maintenance of water tanks in Kamatchi Nagar and Chokkanathapuram.,” she said.
Among other major demands were laying sewage slabs and level slushy and muddy roads as the rain had made them unmotorable. The Councillor added that the encroachments had shrunk the width of Dindigul Main Road “from 30 feet to 12-16 feet.”
DMK Councillor of ward 1, D. Sharmila said that a private school on Dindigul Main Road in Vilangudi had encroached on a public path, causing inconvenience to commuters, and an Open Space Reservation (OSR) land situated on its premises.
“Furthermore, a particular building of the school that has been functioning since 2011 has no approval which is unsafe for the children studying there. When asked, the school authorities do not give any concrete answers,” she alleged.
She added that the issues came to light during calculation of taxes. “The school authorities have been evading building taxes for 25,000 square feet as they only pay for 1.17 lakh square feet, leading to loss of revenue for the Corporation,” said Ms Sharmila.
The Mayor had assured her that she would look into the issue at the earliest, the DMK Councillor said.
DMK Councillor of ward 34 J. Pandeeswari petitioned the panel to take action to renovate public toilets across the city built under Valmiki Ambedkar Awas Yojana (VAMBAY). “The one at the end of Moulana Sahib Street is a home to anti-social elements.”
AIADMK Councillor of ward 26, K. Chokkayee, and DMK Councillor of ward 33, R. Malathi, submitted petitions to redress the issue of bad roads and overflowing drainage plaguing their wards.
AIADMK Councillor of ward 24 J. Manickam said the condition of Kulamangalam main road dug up under Mullaperiyar Drinking Water Project was getting worse with every wet spell. “The dugout mud has accumulated on the sides, and the roads are dangerous for commuters. The Commissioner has assured me of action within a week,” he added.
A few residents were caught airing their grievances in shrill voices., while a couple of petitions were redressed on the spot.
The Mayor flagged off two machines remodelled to suck up solid waste for use in zone IV and V, said an official release.
