Bus shelter coming under encroachment is a common sight in many parts of the city. Vendors and vagabonds could be seen occupying much of the space at some of the modern bus shelters. But the situation along Tiruchi-Chennai by-pass road is slightly different. For, the bus shelter at Sanjeevi Nagar remains almost inaccessible to commuters as lorries are always parked in front of the shelter. The shelter is effectively in disuse as the parked vehicles make it almost invisible. Parking of lorries along service lanes along the city stretches of the highway has been a major problem and at times leads to accidents. The police and the National Highways Authority of India have not been able to find a solution to the problem.
Chief Minister Jayalalithaa declared open an informative Cauvery River Interpretation Centre and a children’s water theme park at the Grand Anicut bordering Thanjavur and Tiruchi districts recently. The facilities have added intellectual and entertainment value to the much sought after picnic spot.
Due to the efforts of the PWD and the Tourism Departments, school children are visiting the facilities and are pleased to know the course of the Cauvery right on the banks of the river itself. Besides, Grand Anicut is spruced up with the renovated old park and the decked up Karikalan Manimandapam that houses a massive bronze statue of Chola Emperor Karikalan astride a magnificent elephant and they attract the young and the old alike.
While all of them delight the visitors, many inebriated tipplers disturb the environment and the picnickers alike. The source of drunken trouble is the TASMAC retail outlet on Vengur Road near the Grand Anicut Canal.
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Many drunken youth have tripped and fell into the rivers and have been saved in time by the short-staffed PWD who are forced to deal with the ruffians who tease female visitors and indulge in vandalism too.
Not a day passes without some trouble to the visitors and the villagers at the Grand Anicut courtesy the TASMAC shop. The Chief Minister’s efforts to shore up the Grand Anicut would be served if the district administration and the TASMAC authorities relocate the liquor outlet to a farther distance at least.
S.Ganesan and
L. Renganathan