Managing a Federation comprising 32 residents welfare associations is a tough row to hoe, but B. Devadoss believes no matter how difficult this may be, it has to be done.
Devadoss is a treasurer of the Federation of Residents Welfare Associations of Rajakilpakkam (FRWAR), which unites many residents welfare associations. Ever since the Federation was formed, each of these Associations has found its interests being represented more effectively. (Formed in June 2015, FRWAR is spearheaded by E. Chandran, the Federation’s president. Seetharaman is its secretary.)
Their first project as a Federation was cleaning up the locality. Members of all the Associations got together to clear the area from Madambakkam to Rajakilpakkam Main Road of plastic and other wastes.
“More than one thousand residents participated in the clean-up drive,” says Devadoss. “Since that initiative, we have been arranging for a clean-up programme whenever we come across an area that is overrun with garbage.”
The Federation regularly organises tree-planting drives, planting saplings by the side of streets. “Additionally, we distribute saplings such as Tulsi and other herbal plants to every resident, encouraging them to grow them at their houses,” he says.
Distributing nilavembu kashayam (believed to be a remedy for many common ailments) once in three months and giving away LED bulbs to reduce power consumption and organising Association-wise sports day, especially to encourage children and women to take up sports, are among the other activities the Federation has been organising.
Incidentally, the Federation has doubled its efforts in ensuring the safety of every resident by installing CCTV cameras across the locality.
“Every two weeks, cases of chain snatching and theft would come to light. To counter this, we installed 134 CCTV cameras, and following this, crime rate has reduced considerably,” says the treasurer. On why taking up an issue through a Federation is better, he says, “More often than not, associations are not completely aware of their legal rights and procedures to file a case and the legal measures to be taken to expedite a process. This is where a Federation comes in. As a Federation, we look into their issues and guide them on how to have them represented. We also monitor the progress of these cases.”
For instance, once a woman resident of Rajakilpakkam was a victim of chain-snatching attempt. “We helped the woman lodge a police complaint. As the Federation ensures images from the CCTV cameras are monitored regularly, we were able to identify the culprit. With the CCTV footage helping them, the police nabbed him,” he adds.
