Chennai: Pulianthope in civic pit, says VCK councillor Ambethvalavan

CHENNAI: Ward 73 VCK councillor C Ambethvalavan raised a series of pressing civic issues during the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) council meeting on Thursday, alleging that private contractor Ramky’s poor handling of waste management in Pulianthope has led to overflowing garbage and deteriorating sanitation.

He said just 50 workers are tasked with collecting garbage across 200 streets in his ward. He further alleged that supervisors target women workers with false absence notices and dismiss those who arrive even five minutes late.

Highlighting stalled infrastructure, the councillor claimed that construction of a school on Ammayammal Street, which began last year, and an Urban Primary Health Centre (UPHC) on Cooks Road were halted on verbal instructions from GCC officials following the change in government.

Mayor R Priya acknowledged that work on the UPHC was progressing at a snail's pace and instructed Regional Deputy Commissioner (Central) Kaushik to inspect the site and issue notices to negligent contractors.

Officials explained that students from the Ammayammal Street school were shifted to Decastor Road, adding that construction stopped after the ground floor was completed, despite approval for a G+2 building, due to fund constraints. However, Corporation Commissioner GS Sameeran assured the house that the school building would be fully completed as a G+2 structure to cater to student strength.

Focusing on the lack of public amenities, Ambethvalavan said his ward, populated largely by working-class and Muslim residents, lacks a community hall, while a newly constructed hall on New Ferehance Road remains unopened. An Amma Canteen on Ambedkar College Road continues to function out of a makeshift tin shed with broken floor tiles, making conditions unhygienic for daily wage earners.

Drawing a sharp contrast in local area development funds, the councillor noted that while MLAs receive Rs 32 crore over five years alongside Rs 75,000 monthly for vehicle maintenance and staff, ward councillors get barely Rs 60 lakh annually, which shrinks to around Rs 40 lakh after GST deductions.

Expressing frustration over long delays in completing the Ganeshapuram Road Over Bridge (ROB), he said simultaneous closures of Perambur High Road, Strahan’s Road, Konnur High Road, and Ambedkar College Road due to Metro Rail and ROB works have hit residents hard. Funeral processions are forced to take 5 to 6 km detours to reach crematoriums in Otteri or BB Road, he said, urging the civic body to keep at least one side of these stretches open.

The Commissioner said work is progressing in coordination with Southern Railway to lower overhead power lines, with bowstring work to be completed within a few months.

Ambethvalavan also protested eviction notices to residents of Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board housing in Mangalapuram and Ramana Nagar, who were relocated and given free homes but are now asked to pay Rs 5 lakh. Further, 165 families in New Walama Nagar have been waiting for 40 years for land pattas due to overlapping OSR land disputes between CMDA and the Board.