The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Reader's Mail

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Feb 12, 2007
ePaper


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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Reader's Mail

Defacing public property

Railway Stations name boards in Tamil and English have virtually become unreadable due to pasting of handbills, advertisements etc by individuals, organisations and political parties. The authorities concerned remain silent spectators to this practice. The action of defacing public property is punishable. The Southern Railway management should take stern action and levy hefty fines, besides imprisonment, on the offenders.

N.B.S. Manian,
Manavalanagar

Cemetery in pathetic condition

The cemetery attached to the 6th ward of the Maduravoyal 3rd Grade Municipality is in a pathetic condition. It has been turned into dump yard of the area. Waste from chicken, mutton shops, and fast food outlets are dumped here resulting in a foul stink, and facilitating the breeding of mosquitoes and other insects. Pigs, dogs and cattle are permanently gathered here, polluting the environment further. Feral dogs are also present, threatening passers-by. The dogs near the garbage have even been known to attack children. The garbage is set on fire and the smoke from the burning waste is polluting the air. The Municipality should renovate the cemetery by constructing a compound wall and appointing a watchman.

T. Manoharan,
Valasarawakkam

Suburban rail services

Even after three years of commencement of the B.G. Train services on the Tambaram-Beach Section it is sad that this has not been integrated with Chennai-Tiruvallur Suburban Services. Every day, thousands of passengers, mainly workers and office staff travel from Tambaram section to Ambattur-Avadi and vice versa. Detraining at Park station, and walking up to Central station, to catch another train results in enormous waste of time and resources and passengers are put to much suffering. As road traffic is very heavy on the Tambaram-Koyambedu-Avadi section, passengers suffer. Introduction of regular train services on the Tambaram-Avadi section brooks no delay. Similarly Velachery MRTS-St. Thomas Mt line should be completed as a top priority.

R. Guruswamy,
Tambaram West

Pedestrians' plight

The stretch between Toll Gate and Ampa Mall on E.V.R. Salai junction in Aminjikarai, Chennai, has not been widened for more than a decade. The narrow bridge, which acts a bottleneck to traffic flow, adds insult to injury. Pavements for pedestrians are not readily available, and if they are present, the pavements are encroached for parking two-wheelers and by shop keepers. One can only use them by negotiating the gaps between the parked two-wheelers, which is often not possible. Senior citizens are badly affected. The pedestrians are forced to walk on the road putting their lives at risk. It is most unfortunate that authorities concerned have not taken any action.

T.V. Narayanaswamy,
Aminjikarai.

Curtailment of bank services

Earlier, banks had a clerk to receive cheques deposited by their customers, and before affixing the bank's seal and his signature, he would check if the challan was properly filled in.

The counterfoil was issued as acknowledgement for the customers. But over the past few months, almost all banks have discontinued this procedure and we are asked to drop our cheque/deposits in a box kept for the purpose.

Clients will not get any acknowledgement from the bank, as a proof for depositing the cheque. This is rather unfair. Recently I deposited a cheque in which I had forgotten to mention my S.B. A/c number. For more than a month, the cheque amount was not credited to my a/c. When I went to the bank, after a month to know the position, the manager got the challan and cheque and asked me to fill in the A/c No. and then sent the same for clearing. If there had been a clerk, he would have noticed the mistake and there would have been no delay of nearly a month. Cheques dropped in the boxes are likely to be misplaced or lost. It is regretful that banks, instead of providing more facilities to their customers, are curtailing the existing services. I request the authorities concerned to order the restoration of the old procedure immediately so that the customers will have stamped acknowledgement for the cheques they deposit.

B. Srinivasan.
Purasawakkam

Electoral rolls clarification

With reference to the letter by S. Murugaian, resident of Villivakkam, which appeared in the `Letters to the Editor' in The Hindu dated 05-02-2007, we would like to state that the name of the complainant S. Murugaian and his wife are found in the Electoral Rolls. The total number of electors in the second street of north Jaganathan Nagar (Corporation Division 63) of 18 Villivakkam Assembly Constituency is 124 in the rolls of 2006.

The Collector of Tiruvallur District has instructed the Revenue Divisional Officer, Ponneri to further enquire and verify in detail whether there is any omission of names in the electoral roll pertaining to the above area.

Naresh Gupta, I.A.S.,
Chief Electoral Officer

Bus frequency poor

The only MTC bus, which covers the Ambattur Red Hills Road from Poonamallee is 62 Exp and 62 Series. The frequency of the bus service is poor and the 62 Exp buses are not stopped at Velammal Engineering College stop and the students are asked by the conductors to get down at Surapet, which is 1-1/2km from the college. It is not safe for the girl students to walk through the area, because of cases of chain snatching reported there.

Though many representations have been given to the CM's cell & MD of MTC, so far no action has been initiated to stop the 62 Exp bus at Velammal Engineering College stop. Will the Transport Minister/MTC take necessary action to stop the 62 Exp buses at Velammal Engineering College stop for the benefit of the students?

V. Balasundar,
Avadi

Revised auto fare cards

Regarding the revised fares of autos, cards indicating the recalibrated fares should bear the seal and signature of the regional transport authorities before they are issued to auto drivers. Such authorised recalibrated cards will enable the public to distinguish between genuine and bogus ones. Early action by the authorities in this regard would be welcomed by all.

P. V. Srinivasan,
Shastri Nagar

Parking problem

Mambalam station has become a major one for commuters coming from various places viz., Ashok Nagar, K.K.Nagar, T.Nagar, M.G.R.Nagar and beyond M.G.R.Nagar, Nesapakkam, Virugambakkam to go to office as well as shop. As the number of two-wheelers are increasing day by day and given the paucity of space, commuters find it very difficult to park their vehicle at West Mambalam. Further, commuters from T.Nagar side also park their vehicle in the West Mambalam side as there is no parking space on the T.Nagar side.

Recently, on West Mambalam side the old booking office was demolished completely. This can be spared for parking by extending the existing parking area. Will the authorities consider the suggestion?

M. Raghavendran,
Chennai-2

Poor frequency of trains

The trains during peak hours on the Beach-Arakonam, and Chennai-Arakonam sections are very few. After 7-05 a.m., the train to Arakonam is at 8-10 a.m. at Beach Station. This leads to crowding and heavy rush since all office-goers and college students depend on trains and they are not able to reach their destinations in time. So we request the railway authorities to run a train at least every 5 minutes on this route. Meanwhile, the buses of 17 series on the Vadapalani route have been extended to 19 kilometres via Egmore, Liberty Theatre, Sterling Road from Broadway to Saligramam. If a new bus is introduced to Saligramam, via KMC, Dasprakash, Aminjikarai, passenger traffic can be eased at T. Nagar and 100 Feet Road, and people in Arumbakkam, Koyambedu will be benefited.

S. Sabarinath,
Jawahar Nagar

Indirect increase in bus fare

It has been noted for the last four months, the majority of the MTC buses plying in Chennai City are `M' or have been converted into Green Services which means an indirect bus fare increase imposed by the Government on the public. This indirect bus fare increase not only puts the lakhs of commuters in a fix but also leads to arguments between the bus conductors and general public. Government has been maintaining that they are not going to increase the bus fare in Tamil Nadu. Wherever a bus plying with `M' display halts at all bus stops, there is no meaning in converting the ordinary services to `M' services.

The Government should come out and announce the above fare increase so as to avoid confrontation between the conductors and public.

V.K. Vasan,
Chennai-40

Direct bus service

Ice House, one of the most populated areas in Chennai has no direct bus service to Koyambedu, which is a key destination in Chennai (Previously there was one bus service 24D which was a very infrequent bus). Residents of Ice House find it difficult to go to Koyambedu CMBT, the vegetable market, flower & fruit markets. There is a bus service 27B from Anna Square to Koyambedu, on a roundabout way taking more time to reach Koyambedu. The authorities should introduce fast service in 27B (Express yellow service) so that commuters can reach their destination early.

K. S. Srikanthan,
Triplicane

Commuters' woes

This is to highlight the plight of hundreds of rail users at Nungambakkam Railway Station. At present, commuters use the solitary Foot Over Bridge to get into and out from Platforms 1 and 2. This bridge is very narrow and totally inadequate during peak hours. The woes of passengers are unimaginable when two EMU trains towards Tambaram and Chennai Beach arrive at platform Nos.1 & 2 at the same time. It is not uncommon to see people pushing one another to catch trains, resulting in great hardship to elders, children, women and disabled. One fails to understand how this basic aspect escaped the attention of the Railway authorities when various infrastructure works were undertaken. To overcome this problem, the following remedial measures are suggested. (a) Construction of one more Foot Over Bridge at the end of other side of the existing platforms. (b) Construction of a Sub-way. (c) Widening the existing Foot Over Bridge with metallic partition as in other Railway Stations like Mambalam. Will the Railway administration do the needful at the earliest?

V. Johan Dhanakumar,
Choolaimed

Poor roads

The roads in Park Road, Annanagar West have been dug up, and piles of mud heaped on either side. Only a faint trace of the old tar road remains. The entire area looks red in colour due to the mud and dust. This condition exists for more than a year, in spite of representing the matter to the authorities.

A resident of Park Road,
Annanagar West

Stray dog menace

The problem of stray dogs in the streets of New Colony and other surrounding areas at Adambakkam is growing from bad to worse. Children and aged persons are scared to walk in the streets, especially during evenings. Two wheeler riders are often chased aggressively by the stray dogs while their vehicles are in motion, driving them to their wit's end.

There have been many instances of the residents of these areas having been bitten by stray dogs. During late nights, the stray dogs start howling in chorus, and this noise alarms the children and deprives them and the elderly of their sleep. Animal lovers talk against killing of stray dogs, and suggest sterilization of the female dogs to stop their proliferation. But, these steps are not going to check the already existing number of stray dogs.

J. Manohar Singh,
Adambakkam

Velachery needs more buses

Velachery comes under Chennai Corporation and the same extends up to Madipakkam (South), Guindy (North), Taramani (East) and Adambakkam (West) (including 100 Feet Bye Pass Road, Velachery). In terms of MTC buses, only D70 (Ambattur), 29N (Perambur), M45A (V.Illam), M21 (East Tambaram) and 1G (Thiruvottiyur) are serving the commuters. MTC buses 5A/M7/M5G/M51/51E/45E/A51/V51 ply via Velachery Main Road (V.M.R) (both ways). Areas near West Velachery Main Road (Gangai Nagar/Lakshmi Nagar/Venkateswara Nagar/Sasi Nagar/Sri Rajalakshmi Nagar) are neglected by the MTC.

At present, only D70 while returning to Velachery and A51 while going to High Court passing through the 100 Feet Bye Pass Road, Velachery. The B51 (East Tambaram - T.Nagar) plying through 100 Feet Bye Pass Road (both ways) has now been stopped. Buses going to T.Nagar (M7/5A/M45/51/M5G) pass through V.M.R. and we suggest that 2 to 3 buses can be diverted and be run via 100 Feet Bye Pass Road (both ways), which means West Velachery residents need not go to Vijayanagar Bus Stand. These buses must touch Madipakkam also. Besides the above problems, it is imperative to introduce more new services from Velachery to Poonamalle (via Guindy), Valasaravakkam (via Guindy), Mylapore (via Kotturpuram/Alwarpet/Mandaiveli), Egmore (via Saidapet), Nanganallur and Thiruverkadu.

R. Venkataraman,
West Velachery

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