IT corridor nearby, yet Padur lacks basic infrastructure

Ever since the Siruseri IT park opened, the village has witnessed rampant development and the neighbourhood currently boasts of two universities, two engineering and arts colleges and more than 30 apartment complexes including high-rise ones. At present, the village has a total population of about 30,000 spreading across nine wards. 

However, the villagers claim that they have been left out in the development process and that their roads remain unrepaired for over seven years while none of the defunct street lamps have been replaced. “Even garbage is not being collected on a regular basis,” said a resident on condition of anonymity. 

The residents also alleged that the neighbourhood lake has not been maintained properly by the panchayat. They claimed that water drawn from the lake was used for drinking purpose 30 years back. Over the past few years, the water quality has become so bad that it can’t be used for any purpose, they rued. 

Sudhakar, an activist from the village, said, “We have petitioned the BDO, village panchayat and Collector several times but there has been no response. A few years back the villagers got together and cleaned the lake and asked the panchayat officials to maintain it, but they failed to do so,” he said.

One of the reasons cited by officials for the poor condition of suburban areas is the delay in conducting local body elections, which they claimed has blocked fund allocation to a large extent. 

When contacted Thiruporur Block Development Officer (BDO) Prakash Babu told DTNext, “There are not sufficient funds to repair the roads as of now. We have asked for funds from the government. We are expecting to receive the amount soon, following which the work will be started.”