A Southern Railway-owned vacant land near the railway station in Annanoor is anything but vacant. It is overrun with thick vegetation which provides the ideal condition for snakes and other reptiles to thrive. These creatures invite themselves to the residential sections nearby, often sending residents into a tizzy of anxiety.
Primarily to see this problem addressed, residents have sought that this Southern Railway-owned vacant land be converted into a playground.
Residents of the locality which includes Sri Sakthi Nagar, Kondithope, Jyothi Nagar, Vivekanda Nagar, TNHB Colony and Ambedkar Nagar, travel to the open grounds at Thirumullavoyal, Ambattur and Avadi when they look for a playground.
As most of the streets in the locality are narrow and ridden with potholes, most children play indoors.
“If the Southern Railway develops the open land into playground, it will prevent further abuse of the land,” says S. Prakash, a long-time resident of Annanoor.
Annanoor is known for its railway yard, which particularly supports the the suburban trains plying between Chennai Central and Tiruvallur. Most of the residents in the neighbourhood work in the city or railway units at Annanoor, Perambur Loco Works and also in industrial units in Ambattur and Pattaravakkam.
Unlike the other congested neighbourhoods such as Avadi, Ambattur and Anna Nagar, residents preferred to settle down in Annanoor for the advantages of affordable housing, water supply, safety, transport and medical facilities it provided.
Southern Railway officials say that the open land has been left vacant as the railways might construct a parking lot or other facilities for the benefit commuters at the railway station.
“A decision on public requests such as conversion of railway space into playground will be taken only by senior officials of the Southern Railway,” says a railway official.
