Maduravoyal means ‘charming entrance.’ This seems to be a misnomer when you factor in the incomplete pillars of a stalled elevated corridor project between Maduravoyal and Chennai Port. These pillars are the first thing to grab the attention of anyone entering the locality.
Defined by its proximity to CMBT and called the gateway to Chennai, Maduravoyal has undergone rapid urbanisation in the last five years. However, this area, which was once part of the Villivakkam Assembly segment, is yet to see any improvements in basic infrastructure.
Some of the major issues plaguing the constituency remain unsolved. To start with, residents of Porur continue to grapple with traffic snarls as the construction of the flyover has been dragging on for over six years now.
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Consisting of fast-developing areas like Nolambur, Vanagaram, Alapakkam and Valasaravakkam, the constituency has also acquired two wards from the erstwhile Ambattur Municipality, and as a result, it is the second largest constituency in Tiruvallur district.
The key contestants are not new to the voters. While sitting MLA G. Beem Rao is contesting for the second time for the CPI(M), AIADMK is fielding Chennai’s Deputy Mayor P. Benjamin as its candidate. Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) candidate N.V. Srinivasan is serving his third term as the Vanagaram village panchayat president. Congress has nominated R. Rajesh, vice-president of Tamil Nadu Youth Congress, as its candidate.
Demand for clean Cooum
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The main demands that people here place before the contestants are completion of the long-pending project to construct an elevated corridor between Maduravoyal and Chennai Port and a flyover at the Porur junction; an underground drainage project and a clean Cooum river.
B. Varadarajan, president of Federation of Maduravoyal Residents’ Welfare Association, said: “Much of the traffic congestion could be reduced if the elevated corridor is completed.”
Sewage connections
Residents were also waiting for sewage connections for several years now due to issues pertaining to the land in Rukmani Nagar through which the main line passed, said Mr. Varadarajan, adding that better water supply and connectivity through small buses were a few of the developments that took place in the past five years.
People who travel along the Mount Poonamallee High Road cannot miss the panoramic view of the Porur lake, one of the drinking water sources. But, residents of Porur say that though the waterbody is being restored, it continues to face a threat from private agencies that are trying to usurp a chunk of it.
M.N. Sundaresan, a resident of Madanandapuram, said: “It takes a minimum of 15 minutes to cross the Porur junction at any time of the day. Completion of the flyover project will make a huge difference to the traffic bottleneck at the junction. Due to the lack of a sewerage network, several areas face the problem of sewage overflows.”
Bad roads in Mugalivakkam and poor maintenance of floodwater channels that had contributed to flooding are among the issues here.Upgrade of schools
For residents of Ramapuram, saving the Ramapuram lake from encroachments and upgrade of government schools, parks and libraries remain a pipedream.
S. Murugan of Thiruvalluvar Public Welfare Association said, “We have been battling for basic infrastructure for many years now. Ramapuram being merged with Chennai Corporation has not made any difference to us.”
Bad roads in Mugalivakkam, poor maintenance of floodwater channels among issues