A week after taking over as the first Mayor of Cuddalore, Sundari Raja is busy interacting with citizens at her office.
She has her task cut out. “People have high expectations from the Corporation. They want a clean city with adequate amenities. It is our prime responsibility,” she says in an interview to TheHindu here.
“Augmenting water sources, introducing 24x7 water supply to all wards and making Cuddalore a ‘no-flooding’ city are my top priorities,” she adds.
Ms. Raja has planned to visit all wards to come to grips with the issues faced by the residents.
As the city is getting flooded every year, a plan will be readied to make Cuddalore a ‘no-flooding’ area. “The drains will be repaired and reconstructed to prevent water stagnation,” she says.
Solid waste management is a major issue, she says, and the civic body will execute a project to achieve the goal of a clean and no-waste zone. The Corporation has identified 46 acres at Vellapakkam near here for a landfill and waste segregation. The households will be asked to segregate waste at source.
Acknowledging the water crisis, Ms. Raja points out that the recommended per capita consumption of water is 135 lpcd (litres per capita per day) for all houses, but the supply is 93 lpcd. “We will chalk out a plan to augment water sources by repairing the groundwater aquifers at Keppar Malai and sinking more borewells to supply safe drinking water to all wards.”
As the underground drainage project remains incomplete in several wards, officials have been directed to expedite the work, Ms. Raja says. The project was conceived during 2006-07 when the DMK was in power. It suffered several delays after the AIADMK came to power. Of the 45 wards, the work has been completed in 27 wards and partially completed in nine. It is yet to begin in nine other wards, and a detailed project report has put the cost at ₹180 crore, she says. The proposal is under the government’s consideration.
“The civic body won’t permit encroachments. We want to ensure that footpaths are used only by pedestrians and vendors will be relocated,” the Mayor says.
The civic body will soon announce measures to improve greenery and parks. “We have also planned passenger ferry services at Silver Beach in Devanampattinam. The civic body will set up watch towers at various places and establish an open air theatre at Devanampattinam.”
