In a noble gesture, P. Chandrasekaran, 31, a techie from Nallavur near Vanur in Villupuram district, spent ₹10.5 lakhs that he had saved up for his wedding to lay a concrete road, a long-pending demand of the residents of Nallavur. Mr. Chandrasekaran has no regrets when it comes to his decision.
A senior technical lead with HCL Technologies Limited in Chennai, Mr. Chandrasekaran, had saved up over the last two years for his wedding, scheduled on September 1. However, moved by the sufferings of the people of Nallavur over the pathetic condition of the road, he decided to use the money to lay a concrete road in the village.
“It was a concrete road that was laid 25 years back. The road was completely damaged and residents were left wondering if the road would be re-carpeted at all. Commuting was next to impossible and residents had been facing much hardship due to the poor condition. Although repeated representations were made to the authorities concerned, they cited paucity of funds for the delay in relaying the road,” says Mr. Chandrasekaran.
It was then that Mr. Chandrasekaran decided to lay the road from the money saved for his wedding. He approached officials in the Block Development Office in Vanur in January, seeking permission to lay the road under the Namakku Naamescheme aimed at developing civic infrastructure in residential areas.
“Initially, I was asked to pay 50% of the total allocation for the work under the scheme and the bill would be released at the end of the work. However, I found out that after Goods and Service Tax (GST) deductions and various other ‘bureaucratic hurdles’, the final amount may not be sufficient for road work. I was not a registered contractor with the Government and hence decided to spend the entire amount from my own pocket to lay the road,” he added.
Mr. Chandrasekaran’s parents - S. Perumal and P. Lakshmi - were initially hesitant over his decision to lay the road as they feared inviting the wrath of the local politicians. However, he convinced them and approached the district administration seeking sanction to commence the work.
Mr. Chandrasekaran’s friend in the Villupuram District Collectorate helped him get the administrative approval for taking up the project with 100% contribution under the Namakku Naame scheme. The work to lay the 290-metre concrete road commenced in March and was completed in a month.
