For many years now, on Foxen Street in Perambur, residents at an apartment complex are putting up with something that makes access to the premises of the residential facility anything but easy.
Tangedco has installed a transformer smack in front of the complex, and this is hindering the movement of people into and out of it. Besides, the Greater Chennai Corporation placed a few metal bins in front of the transformer a few years ago to collect garbage dumped by other residents on the narrow lane. As per the rule book, garbage in street-corner bins should be collected on a daily basis by the civic body. However, on many streets in the locality, including Foxen Street, garbage dumped in street-corner bins is collected on an irregular basis, often only twice a week, and this gives rise to the issue of smelly bins. As food leftovers are dumped in these bins, they draw stray dogs and cattle.
Tucked away between Perambur Paper Mills Road and Perambur Loco Works railway station, the ‘S’ shaped Foxen Street is lined with old buildings, many of which are occupied by Anglo Indians.
Most of the residents on the stretch are senior citizens; they had retired from Southern Railway many years ago. Except for a few sections, including the one where the Tangedco transformer is located, the 30-feet-wide street is narrow.
As there is adequate space around the electricity transformer, the Corporation placed garbage bins there, ignoring the objections from residents.
For many years, residents of the street, especially those living in units near the transformer have been requesting Tangedco officials to relocate the transformer to a spot near near an abandoned building. They have suggested that it could be replaced with a modern compact transformer which alone can be accommodated in the said spot.
Once this is done, residents can work towards getting Corporation to remove the garbage bins.
“Steps will be taken to relocate the transformer soon,” said a Tangedco official.
