Alandur, the third least populous zone in Chennai, was annexed to the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) in 2011. Unlike the newly annexed areas in the northern part of the city, Alandur has benefitted from being part of the civic body with relatively better transformation in the past decade in terms of infrastructure.
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However, even in this zone, a number of pending infrastructure projects, flood-prone areas, and lack of basic amenities in certain areas call for attention of the GCC Council that is going to be elected soon.
Many areas in and around Mugalivakkam and Manapakkam still did not have proper underground drainage and stormwater drainage network. “We can probably say that these areas have around 50% coverage of drainage. However, measures are being taken to cover the remaining areas,” said V. Govindarajan, Federation of Residents’ Association of Mugalivakkam and Manapakkam (FORAMM).
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Mugalivakkam and Nandambakkam areas were some of the worst-affected during the Chennai floods in 2015. Even during the heavy rainfall in 2021, localities like Gowri Nagar, CRR Puram and Tiruvalluvar Nagar remained inundated for days. “There is a long-pending demand to widen a canal that takes surplus water from Porur lake to Adyar river. This can prevent flooding,” he said.
David Manohar of Arappor Iyakkam said there were many well-documented encroachments on the banks of the Adyar river in this zone. “GCC should take stringent action to remove the encroachments,” he said.
The residents of this zone have been struggling with various issues for long with two important subways — one at Thillai Ganga Nagar and the other in Pazhavanthangal. V. Rama Rao, a resident of Nanganallur and an activist fighting for civic issues, said that the Pazhavanthangal subway was poorly constructed with a sharp turn on one end. “There is a proposal to straighten the subway by extending it till Nanganallur Fifth Main Road. It has not taken off,” he said.
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This subway and the one in Thillai Ganga Nagar are prone to flooding during rains. C. Prabhakaran, an auto driver in the area, said that there is water seepage from the walls even when it is not raining. “During the recent monsoon, the GCC had installed pumps to swiftly remove the water. However, a permanent solution will be good,” he said.
Mr. Rao pointed out to an announcement made by the AIADMK government in 2016 under Rule 110 in the Assembly to construct an overbridge to replace the subway. “It has remained an announcement,” he said.
J.S. Augustine David, president, Federation of Adambakkam Welfare Associations, said that a number of infrastructure projects have gained momentum albeit a delay. “Our demand for another storage well at Nilamangai Nagar pumping station has been implemented with the intervention of Alandur MLA and Minister T.M. Anbarasan,” he said.
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He added that the Velachery to St. Thomas Mount Mass Rapid Transport System (MRTS) connectivity, which has remained pending for more than a decade, has gained traction in the recent months. “We want that project to be completed soon. We also want the construction of the railway foot over bridge near AJS Nidhi Higher Secondary School expedited,” he said.
Shreeraam Mahalingam, a resident of Thillai Ganga Nagar, highlighted the urgent need to restore and rejuvenate the Adambakkam lake. “The residents have been demanding this for long. However, no concrete measures have been taken yet,” he said. He also stressed on the need to address the menace of stray cattle and dogs in many areas in the locality.
“Nanganallur is often referred to as mini Kancheepuram due to the presence of roughly 30 temples. However, many of these temples do not have adequate infrastructure to cater to the large number of devotees,” he said.