Chocked drains
The recent rain for several days in Madurai city has brought untold sufferings to the residents of Tirumalai Colony and part of Sammattipuram as rainwater entered several houses due to choking of storm water drains. The open drain near Kaalavaasal junction is fully blocked. Civic authorities have been informed of this by the residents many a time but in vain. Corporation collects Rs 1500 per house for drainage maintenance per annum. Periodical cleaning of underground drainage and rainwater canals is not done by civic authorities. I request the Corporation Commissioner to look into this matter and redress our grievances.
V. Balasubramanian,
Tirumalai Colony.
Auto menace
A 35-year-old medical representative died on June 5 on the Bypass Road in an accident due to the careless and sudden halt of an auto rickshaw. Nowadays, almost every auto rickshaw is behaving like a share auto, stopping at any place at will. No action seems to be taken against this behaviour. Public stop these autos as they wish at any place.
The auto stops suddenly without any indication and without going to the left for some distance after getting the left indicator on. Will the authorities take action against this auto menace?
N. Mohamed Ismail,
S.B.O. Second Colony.
Overhaul buses
Nowadays, Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation’s (TNSTC) city buses break down and stop abruptly on bridges and arterial roads due to poor maintenance. The passengers are asked to get down and wait for the next bus. This is very inconvenient for aged passengers. I request the TNSTC authorities to overhaul the city buses periodically.
G. Chitti Babu,
Velmurugan Nagar.
Poor maintenance
During a recent festival day, I travelled in a crowded bus in which screws were protruding from seats. Seeing this, I advised the passengers to be careful while taking a seat. A pregnant woman hurt herself and sustained a bleeding injury when she dashed against a protruding screw. Here I point out that bad maintenance is the reason for such injuries. The transport authorities should personally check the maintenance work to avoid such mishaps.
DSM. Mohaideen,
Velmurugan Nagar.
Thanks to police
The long-felt need of the people residing in Indian Bank Colony, Narayanapuram, has been fulfilled by A. G. Babu, Deputy Commissioner of Police, by providing four iron barricades, two each on either side of the Pillayar Temple near the bus stop, on June 12. I profusely thank the DC and his colleagues for carrying out this job.
The Collector should soon initiate steps to provide speed-breakers near this bus stop to reinforce the safety of the road-users. These speed-breakers will check speeding vehicles on this busy stretch.
S. Vaithianathan,
Indian Bank Colony.
Bad road
DRO Colony Road-K. Pudur Vandipadhai junction at Jawaharpuram is rather unmotorable and remains so for months together.
Apart from this junction, nearly half the stretch of Vandipadhai is full of potholes. DRO Colony, where all the high ranking officials live, is just a stone’s throw from this intersection. The Collector’s bungalow is also located at walking distance from this spot.
BBC. Chandrasekar,
Anna Nagar.
Exempt aged people
The Madras High Court has given an order making it compulsory for two-wheeler riders to wear helmets from July 1. Accidents mostly occur due to drunken driving, rash driving and speeding and violation of traffic rules.
High-powered engines, powerful headlights and some other causes contribute to accidents. As such, senior citizens may be exempted from wearing helmets in consideration of their age. The Government of Tamil Nadu may consider the request of aged people.
R. Gopalakrishan,
Ellis Nagar.
Unwelcome trend
This refers to the report, ‘HC concerned over parents putting pressure on children’ ( The Hindu , June 13, 2015). As a college teacher with nearly four decades of experience, I feel extremely happy about the Madras High Court Bench’s concern over the unwelcome trend of parents exerting undue pressure on their children. I submit the following points with full reverence for the views of the esteemed judges: Both the parents and school managements are equally responsible for the excessive pressure on students, irrespective of their innate potential.
The young students' feelings, desires, aptitude, inclinations and unique intuition and also the essential values of life are conveniently ignored in preference to mundane monetary considerations. It cannot be denied that education has been almost fully commercialised. Subtle aspects have been imperceptibly relegated to the background of the child's life.
M. Vathapureeswaran,
Sundararajanpatti.
Unfair bus fares
There are ordinary, express, LSS, super fast, deluxe, bypass riders, I-to-I and point-to-point buses operated on long-distance routes.
Though all these buses are operated on the same road, with the same speed and same seating capacity, their fares are different and abnormal for the same distance. For example, the town bus fare from Madurai Periyar bus stand to Tirumangalam (18 km) in ordinary city bus is Rs. 9 but in all other city buses it is Rs. 17. It clearly shows that the government and transport corporation are much interested in earning money by fixing different and abnormal bus fares but not in the service of people.
Rural poor workers and ordinary people are unaware of the difference in fare.
Hence, the city/town bus charges should be uniform in all kinds of buses, with a difference between ordinary and express buses.
G. Jayaraman,
Sengamalanachiarpuram.
