A striking feature of ward 28 (Uthangudi) is its spread over a large area and contrasting slithering roads. Residents say that though they have seen the area evolve and accommodate large villa type houses, the lack of common civic amenities is tangible.
Uthangudi, a recently added ward of the Madurai Corporation, has a population of 22,240 according to Census 2011. K. Chandralekha, a resident for many years, is sure that this number has exponentially grown since.
“Ever since the construction of the Ring Road and the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, several people began flocking to Uthangudi. They also realised that the area had sufficient water supply thanks to the Uthangudi channel that runs through it. This was enough reason to move,” she says.
Living in Pandi Koil Street, Ms. Chandralekha says that despite this population explosion, there is high disparity in the ward. While areas like Valar Nagar and adjoining places have tar roads and door-to-door waste collection, those like Pandi Koil Street, Muslim Street, K. M. College Street, Rice Mill Street and several others do not have proper roads.
H. Latha, a resident, says that one of the primary problems the area faces is lack of street lights, “We can hardly see any vehicles approaching us at night time. It feels unsafe to walk along this stretch, particularly if you are a woman. Chain snatching is very common here,” she says. She adds that though the Corporation has constructed 10 to 15 individual household toilets in her area there is a definite necessity for other amenities. “People from at least 30 households do not have toilets. Unless a common bathroom-cum-toilet is built, open defecation will continue along the bunds of the channel,” she says.
There is no underground drainage across ward 28 and residents feel that this is a major cause for the prevalence of vector-borne diseases. There are at least 4,000 households in Uthangudi that do not receive water supply from the local body. Most people are dependant on their bore wells and only 1,151 houses receive supply through pipelines, says a Corporation official. Empty or vacant house site plots in the ward have become dumping ground for waste as waste collection extends only to some parts. Many residents of Uthangudi are conservancy workers of the Corporation. They say that since road condition is poor, they are unable to drive their tricycles into the ward. Hence, letting people dump their waste in empty plots.
Uthangudi is home to one of Corporation’s newest shelters for the urban homeless. It has two community halls, four free toilets and a total of 14 over head tanks. There are 135 streets with few civic amenities.
P. Raamakrishnan, a resident, says that if the Corporation could improve the number of street lights, it would be of use to the public. “It would also be great if the Corporation constructs underground drainage,” he says.
An official from the local body says that since Uthangudi is an added ward, the Corporation has already made allocations to provide basic amenities. “We are waiting for the monsoon to get over so that other works in the area can be completed,” he says.
