Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Reader's Mail

Commissioner of Police, staff thanked

I am a stroke patient for the past eight years and cannot speak and walk without support. I recently visited the Police Commissioner Office, Egmore, to present a petition regarding non-payment of my money by non-banking finance companies. I greatly appreciated the cordial and helpful attitude of the reception and other staff, including the A.C. The Commissioner himself was very patient and most helpful. A woman police officer helped me walk to the exit, and another staffer helped get an auto for my return journey. My sincere thanks to the Commissioner and his team.

Joseph Bernard Satur

Anna Nagar

Traffic snarl at Madley subway

It is a nightmarish experience if you choose to ride a two-wheeler and pass through the Madley subway in the West Mambalam side near the Sankara Mutt. The traffic jam daily between 6.30 p.m. and 7.30 p.m. is hellish and frayed tempus are the rule.

A leader of a political party had promised to set the matter night but nothing has come of it. Unless the road is widened near Sankara Mutt and a wall of the Sri Venugopalaswamy temple right in the middle of the Ellaiamman Koil Street is tackled, there is no solution in the near future.

No media, including this paper, has highlighted this issue adequately with photographs. All the police personnel are posted on the Usman Road side, ignoring the less affluent West Mambalam area.

S. Sivasubramanian,

Ashok Nagar

Flood relief package not received

At Ganapathy Colony in Ekkattuthangal (Ward No. 140), all the residents received their flood relief package at the ration shop during December 2005. Since I was away on that date I could not avail of the same.

Afterwards on enquiry at my ration shop, I was asked to give an application for the issue of flood relief at the Taluk Office at K.K. Nagar. I applied for flood relief at the Taluk office at K.K. Nagar on December 21, 2005. I have not received any information about the flood relief so far.

When I enquired both at ration shop and Taluk office, I did not get any information.

S. Santhanam,

Ekkattuthangal

Poor water supply in Chitlapakkam

During the year 2005, Tamil Nadu especially Chennai and Kancheepuram disticts received unprecedented rain resulting in floods in most of the places. But, in spite of the heavy rains, there is no improvement in supply of Palar drinking water supply to Chitlapakkam and surrounding areas. At present we are not getting water even once in ten days. After the rain the people were expecting water supply at least once in three or four days.

The pity is, the neighbouring areas like Tambaram and Pallavaram gets water almost on alternate days whereas the residents of Chitlapakkam have to wait for more than 10 days. No water, however good it may be, can be stored for ten days.

If this is our plight even before summer, we are afraid we will have a difficult time with the onset of summer. May I request the Chitlapakkam special village panchayat authorities to kindly take suitable steps before the actual start of summer?

L. Sundararaman

Chitlapakkam

Diversion, cancellation of bus routes

For the past few months there have been many diversions and cancellations of bus routes from Besant Nagar. The route No. 4 (Besant Nagar-Tollgate) was shifted to Thiruvanmiyur, a few months earlier. Similarly 47G (Besant Nagar-Korratur) has been changed to G47 and it now runs from V.G.P.-Korattur. At present, only 2 buses run on the 47G route.

Moreover, routes such as A29C (Besant Nagar-Koyembedu Market), 54S (Besant Nagar-Iyyapan Thangal) 47H (Besant Nagar-Anna Nagar), 4C (Besant Nagar-Vallalar Nagar) have been cancelled.

Vivek

Adyar

Road clearing work not taken up

Aani Street in Chinmaya Nagar is today a picture of neglect. The roads are dirty and dusty after the recent heavy rains. There are heaps of dried mud and debris all along the stretch. The authorities have not taken up clearing the stretch despite the fact that rains subsided a long time ago. In addition to this, the existing road was dug up with a bulldozer recently and it has become very difficult for pedestrians and two wheelers to negotiate the road. No road works have been taken up so far. I request the authority concerned (the Municipal Corporation) to act immediately and do the needful.

B. Janardhana Rao,

Chinmaya Nagar

Reduce stamp duty

The Government of Tamil Nadu issued an order which directed the Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB) and Department of Registration as well as Department of Commercial Taxes to issue sale deed/ levy stamp duty at 8 per cent based on the land cost of the flat and not on the (entire) cost of the flat (which included land cost plus building costs).

This G.O. was issued to benefit many lower and middle class TNHB pre and post 1990 flat allottees, who were unable to get the sale deed based on the total cost of the flat (including land and building costs).

It should be noted that the sale deeds were issued/ stamp duty levied for people who purchased flats from private builders on the undivided land cost and not on the entire total cost of the flat (land plus building costs).

All of a sudden, two weeks ago the TNHB started issuing sale deeds based on the total cost of the flat (land plus building cost) instead of land cost of the flat as stated in the G.O. of Government. This sudden change has impacted harshly on the flat purchasers of TNHB.

Hence, I request the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu to issue necessary orders to TNHB/ Commercial Taxes/ Registration Departments to issue Sale Deed/ stamp duty on the land cost alone and not on the entire total cost (land plus building cost).

R. Parvathi,

Anna Nagar

Platform facility lacking

EMU trains from Chennai to Arakkonam take two hours to reach Arakkonam. On January 25, 2006 with the hope of reaching Arakkonam early, I boarded the Chennai-Tirupathur Express leaving Chennai at 17-55 hrs. The train reached Arakkonam at 19-20 hrs. But the station was not in sight as I was in the fourth bogey from the end. Co passengers told me that Arakkonam station had come and the train was on platform No. 1. I had to jump four feet from the compartment to detrain, at the age of 67. To reach home I had to pay extra Rs. 10/- to for an auto. I paid Rs. 17/- in excess as I took the express train.

Arakkonam is an important station for Southern Railway, but the infrastructure is poor. Platform 1 is in bad shape. There is no shelter from the hot sun or biting cold. The overbridges are narrow and thousands of passengers have perforce to use these to reserve berths and seats in advance. There is no indication of coach numbers on the platforms (in Bangalore Cantonment station train number and coach numbers and indicated on the platform), and the lack of clocks make a watch necessary.

I request the railways to provide the necessary infrastructure to help passengers board and detrain without difficulty.

E. Venkatesan,

Arakkonam

Delivery boy's honesty appreciated

Last week, my son-in-law who was proceeding to Thirumangalam from Mogappair on his motorcycle, lost his bag containing credit cards and a cash amount of Rs. 500/- on the way. On reaching Thirumangalam, he noticed the bag missing and immediately searched the entire route, but to no avail. When he was about to lodge a complaint with J.J. Nagar Police Station, he received a phone call from a teenaged boy working in Aavin milk booth as delivery boy, who said that he had found the bag and asked my son-in-law to pick up the bag from him. He not only handed over the bag but also insisted that my son-in-law check whether the cards and cash were intact. He also politely refused to receive any reward for his honesty and promptness.

C.N. Raman,

Anna Nagar

Traffic jams at Mehta Nagar junction

Nelson Manickam Road links Anna Arch with Gemini flyover via Sterling Road and Nungambakkam High Road and sees heavy traffic all the time. The junctions at Choolaimedu and Mehta Nagar witness frequent traffic jams. While at the former point, an automatic signal regulates the traffic, Mehta Nagar junction is not so fortunate, and sees nightmarish jams. Right opposite the entrance to Mehta Nagar is the bus stop to Annanagar; and next to the bus stop is the entrance to Gill Nagar. The bus stop on the opposite side is near the entrance to Mehtanagar near the TNSC Bank. Vehicles from both the areas enter or exit from them and from either left or right into N.M. Road. Hence the flow of traffic is in four directions at this point. No pedestrian can risk crossing the road at these junctions. While installation of a signal will hopefully provide a permanent solution, a pragmatic and temporary solution will be to shift the bus stops further ahead both ways as there is enough space ahead. When more than two or three buses halt at the stops, traffic is held up for a long. time

Will the authorities concerned take remedial action to mitigate the hardship to the road-users?

K.M. Sundaram,

Mehta Nagar

Unhygienic practice on Brindavan Express

On January 12, 2006, I was on my way back to Chennai from Bangalore with my wife, after a trip to Mysore on a vacation. We were travelling by coach C1 (AC Chair Car) by the Brindavan Express, which left Bangalore at 14-30 hours. At about 1700 hours, we ordered refreshments, which were being supplied by the Pantry Car on board the train. The railway staffer served the refreshments to us and after serving passengers travelling in the AC coach, he proceeded to perch himself next to the toilet and the washbasin, with the refreshments kept in an open tray. It struck me as a very unhygienic practice, and I was shocked to see it happening on such a prestigious train.

I therefore request the railway authorities to look into this and take stern measures to see that the practice is curbed in the future.

S. Suresh,

West Mambalam

Provide more bus services

The bus service from Chengalpattu to Thiruvallur via Vallakottai and Sriperumbadur is not enough and do not take into account the needs of the thousands of passengers, bound for these places, especially those bound for Vallakottai. The undersigned waited for more than an hour at Singaperumal Koil and on return from Vallakottai to Singaperumal Koil, not less than an hour and half. Those buses which are plying are over crowded with some passengers perching on the roof. This is a common sight.

More town buses may be introduced to Vallakottai to relieve the passengers from waiting for long times.

If the Government is not inclined to run more services the mini bus owners may be permitted to run more mini buses.

M. K. Nadarajan,

Singaperumal Koil

Regulate traffic

The lengthy river overbridge constructed over the Cooum River in between Periyakuppam and Manavalanagar has been thrown open to vehicular traffic. The volume of traffic, including containers, earthmovers and other heavy vehicles passing through this bridge has increased. The need for regulating the traffic at the junction road at Manavalanagar in the morning and evening has become essential. The police are requested to look into the matter and act accordingly.

N.B.S. Manian,

Secretary

Residents Welfare Association

Manavalanagar, Thiruvallur Dt.

Install signboard

Passengers waiting for buses at the Adyar O.T. bus stop at Sardar Patel Road, Gandhi Nagar in front of the Andhra Bank building run the risk of being hit by vehicles coming from 1st Main Road and Adyar B.S. The MTC should come forward to instal a `bus stop' sign board near TNSC Bank, which is away from the danger zone, in the interest of the safety of passengers waiting for buses and also instruct the crews to stop the bus near TNSC Bank.

P.K. Sankar,

Adyar

Enforce `no parking' regulation

The parking of vehicles on the side of footpath abutting Sri Anantha Padmanabha Swamy Temple at Gandhi Nagar causes a lot of inconvenience to temple visitors. I request the authorities concerned to fix `no parking' sign boards on this side of the road where a cassette shop, puja article shop and a footwear stand are functioning.

P.K. Sankar,

Adyar

Van attendants needed

An eight-year-old girl is reported to have been run over by the same van, which carried her to school (Feb. 23). One can easily understand the sorrow of her grieving parents. It is very difficult for drivers to watch children alight and enter the vans in addition to driving the vans. Rules have to be framed making it mandatory for vans being used to carry school going children to engage attendants so that such attendant can watch over the children and van drivers could turn their attention to driving the vehicles. I hope the government will pay attention to this suggestion.

Q. S. Krishnamurthy,

Nanganallur

Plenty of funds,

but poor roads

Every year, the Corporation as well as the State Government allots funds to improve City roads. Now the Corporation has allocated Rs. 116 crore while the State Government has allocated more than Rs. 360 crore. But, sad to say, many roads are not being properly laid and hence potholes come up in no time. For instance, the Koyambedu road from CMBT to the market is in a bad condition. Why don't the authorities make an attempt to set it right?

J.G. Kanagaraj,

Vadapalani

Bring out stamp

on school

Hindu Higher Sec., School, Triplicane, Chennai is celebrating its 150th anniversary now.

It is one of the oldest institutions in Chennai, serving both the poor and the rich. It has produced several illustrious citizens. The service rendered by the school to the city need to be recognised. It would be fitting to issue a commemorative stamp/ special cover, to mark the 150th anniversary celebrations.

S. Mohanavelu,

Indira Nagar

Road levels raised during re-laying work

Underground drainage work has been completed in Valasarawakkam. Due to depth of the channel, the front portion of the houses develop cracks and the compound walls are getting damaged. Now, road laying work is on in full swing and the road level is being raised.

Hence, the level of the houses appears to have gone down. Plots have become ponds. Formerly road levels were marked clearly so that platforms could be built accordingly. In future the roads should be relaid taking due to care to maintain the road level.

T. Manoharan,

Valasaravakkam

Anna Nagar

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