Will Corporation tag help suburban voters?

CHENNAI: Years of neglect, unsolved civic issues and continuing woes. Now that the councillors elected by suburban voters  will be going to the Chennai Corporation, they hope that it could significantly mitigate their problems. Left, right and centre. Whichever direction you take in Madipakkam, you would find a stinking garbage mound. Overflowing open sewers tell you that underground drainage network is absent here. And, absence of Palar or Metro Water supply besides bad road conditions fill Madipakkam’s cup of civic woes. And the very basic garbage bin that is almost universal in its presence, cannot be spotted anywhere in the vicinity, complain residents.Undoubtedly, this locality should top the list of the most neglected localities of the burgeoning suburban Chennai. Despite all urban characters, the neighbourhood had continued to remain a village panchayat all these years and so did the civic problems. Now, voters fervently hope that the ‘embrace of the Corporation’ will help solve the issues.Residents of Madipakkam, including S Keerthivasan and Janaki Sundar, took ‘Express’ on a ‘guided tour’ to understand their civic problems. This is how the location looked like. Cattle tethered to a pole and garbage everywhere. What kind of a place could it be? The Madipakkam bus terminus. And, a public distribution outlet abutting the terminus is no exception.On Ambedkar Street, right opposite the terminus, there was a huge garbage dump. This testified to the claim of residents that all vacant plots serve as garbage dumps. Also, around places of worship frequented by the public, including the Vembuli Amman and Kamatchi Amman temples, one could see heaps of litter.Again, in several streets of Karthikeya Puram - mainly the 3rd Street - , the community hall location, Rajarajeswari Nagar, Ponniamman Koil Street and Erikarai Street abutting the Madipakkam lake raise a fundamental question. Does a local authority exist? Or is it due to the public indifference?As regards drinking water, the residents pointed out that unlike nearby the Nanganallur and Puzhuthivakkam areas, there is neither Palar water nor Metro Water supply here.“There are just 21 overhead water tanks in the whole of Madipakkam. The water supplied could be used only for washing and other household purposes. For drinking, we buy water cans.” While Nanganallur already has an underground drainage network, work is progressing at a fast pace in Puzhuthivakkam. Most roads are  pothole-riddled and craters make a ride back breaking.   “We are sick and tired of making representations. We hope that councillors with the Corporation tag will provide the silver lining,” the residents said.Speaking to Express, a local official regretted that most problems were due to financial constraints. “To this day, we own just one tractor-trailer to clear garbage. Four other vehicles are taken on hire off and on.” Tricycles are being used widely to collect liter. “Although Madipakkam witnessed manifold rise in population, the status of the local body continued to be a village panchayat. This has dwarfed all our efforts. Now that the neighbourhood will be part of Corporation, we hope that funds will have a free flow to solve civic woes.” Not only residents, officials too bet on Corporation.