Lack of roads, street lights and poor sanitation plague residential colonies around the SBIOA Higher Secondary School, a fast developing residential area beyond K.K.Nagar in ward 37 in the city.
There are about 1,000 houses in a cluster of residential colonies – Santhiagu Nagar, Karpagam Nagar, Vasantha Nagar and Kalyanasundara Nagar. The residential colonies are spread over different directions around the SBIOA HSS , indicating that the institute has been playing a catalytic role in triggering the growth of residential colonies. With the prolonged pleading with authorities seeking civic amenities evoking nil response, a group of residents of ward no. 37 have pooled funds to set up some of common utilities.
“Lack of proper roads is our primary concern; despite our repeated plea to the Corporation authorities, nothing had materialised so far, we have mobilised funds for laying a ‘kutcha' road to ensure connectivity in the wake of the onset of the monsoon,” says B.Selvarajan, coordinator of the Bharatha Human Rights Protection Association.
R.Seethalakshmi, a senior citizen, who has been residing in the area for the past five years, says that absence of street lights has been posing threat to the safety of women. She points out that some residents have erected light poles near the compound walls of their homes. She says that nuisance by anti-social elements force residents, particularly women, to keep indoors beyond late evening.
A cross section of women residents say that accumulation of garbage posed a health hazard. With houses lying scattered amid vacant plots, the thick growth of vegetation and the consequent snake menace adds to the problem, says C.Umamaheswari and B.Shyamala. B.Vanitha, a parent, says that she had moved into the area as it was proximate to the school. She says that the road leading to the school was the lone tar road in the entire area. The road, laid several years ago, had got damaged due to the volume of heavy vehicles carrying construction materials, taxis and auto rickshaws carrying pupil. She said that the single road should be upgraded into a double road and re-laid immediately, to avoid traffic congestion during peak hours. D.Revathy, another resident, says that the tanker lorries supplying drinking water does not enter her colony, due to bad condition of the ‘kutcha road.'
Women also want Corporation to provide drinking water connections at the earliest and expect some package of civic schemes for their ward.
