The newly formed Pallavaram Assembly constituency is at crossroads, witnessing growth on one side and battling civic woes on the other.
The Pallavaram constituency has been carved out from the Tambaram and Alandur constituencies and comprises Tiruneermalai and Meenambakkam town panchayats, Pammal, Anakaputhur and Pallavaram Municipalities and Tirusulam and Pozhichalur village panchayats with 2.76 lakh voters, who will be voting at 297 polling stations.
While the constituency has witnessed a number of developments in the form of projects to improve basic infrastructure, there are still many pockets in Tiruneermalai, Pozhichalur, Tirusulam, Pammal, Chromepet, Hasthinapuram and Pallavaram where the quality of amenities is abysmally low. Proximity to the city had resulted in growth of urban pockets, but in the absence of planning, many interior localities lack adequate space to create parks and playgrounds. Tiruneermalai and Tirusulam are dotted with stone quarries and the problems faced by workers and residents of neighbouring localities are huge.
R.Gopalan of Pozhichalur was of the view that welfare works seemed to be restricted to arterial roads. While welcoming widening and improvement of GST Road and construction of flyovers and subways, he said the quality of roads in villages such as Pozhichalur were neglected. Residents of Keelkattalai and Malanganadapuram in Pallavaram and Lakshmipuram in Tiruneermalai want improvement to roads in their areas.
Improvement of link roads and streets of residential localities are on the top of mind of voters. Residents in village panchayats were also not happy with the quantity or quantity of drinking water supplied by their rural local bodies. The quality of services provided at primary health centres in the rural pockets was far from satisfactory, they complained.
Similarly, the Tambaram Taluk Government Hospital, popularly known as Chromepet GH, had to improve, said G. Harikrishnan, a Pallavaram resident. Residents also want an immediate end to the burning of garbage along Radial Road on the Pallavaram Periya Eri. The amount of problems caused to people living around the lake was on the rise.
The main contenders are T.M.Anbarasan of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, and P.Dhan Singh of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. He lists a series of projects. Creation of two new taluks at Alandur and Sholinganallur from the vast Tambaram taluk, which, in turn, was upgraded a Revenue Division was of great benefit to several lakh residents in the southern suburbs of Chennai. Creation of two new electricity sub-stations, improvement of bus shelters at Pallavaram and Keelkattalai, increasing the daily supply of drinking water, introduction of new Metropolitan Transport Corporation bus services from Hasthinapuram and Keelkattalai, speeding up work on the sewer project in Pallavaram and subways and road overbridges were some of the measures initiated during his tenure as MLA from Alandur from which he won last time, Mr. Anbarasan said.
Mr. Dhan Singh is no stranger to the constituency, having been elected as Pallavaram Municipal Chairman in 2001. He was municipal councillor, which he resigned recently, and familiar with the issues. He recalled that it was during his stint as Municipal Chairman that work on the underground drainage project began.
During his tenure as chairman, he had initiated people-friendly schemes, Mr. Dhan Singh said.
