CHENNAI: What began as an initiative to keep stray vehicles and upturned garbage bins off their street is now a collective of residents who manage a small neighbourhood that lies in one of the most crowded and commercial parts of the city. Tucked away from the busy stretch of Sardar Patel Road is a small interior street — Krishnamachari Avenue, which falls right between posh Adyar and vehicle-infested Guindy’s buzzing traffic line.
S Seshadri, secretary of Krishnamachari Avenue Residents Welfare Association, reveals how much the city has changed since their welfare group was set up in 1986. “It looks very different in terms of sanitation. It is a lot cleaner now than it used to be. Back in the day, we didn’t follow the practice of garbage removal on a daily basis,” he says.
But despite the Corporation being approachable to senior citizens taking up local issues, the mass commercialisation of the area has obliterated the tranquility once experienced by residents here. With the profusion of training institutes, shopping malls,
IT offices and eateries on Krishnamachari Avenue, residents were faced with a slew of problems created by the daily hustle and bustle.
Over the 30 years since its inception, the welfare group has worked independently, thanks to the efforts of a few committed residents. This small group of residents who formed the welfare association is a part of a larger South Chennai collective which focuses on civic issues.
The association follows all protocols of a large organisation like monthly general meetings, review meetings, and celebrating occasions like Republic Day and Independence Day, which have helped encourage members over the years.
Some niggling problems like power lines and parking woes are being taken up the civic officials for speedy redress. However, encroachments by shop fronts and hawkers are yet to be addressed in a concerted manner by the authorities on this 3.2 km stretch of road.
During monsoons, Seshadri adds, the residents get together and pump out stagnant water even though most of them are senior citizens. “We had over a foot of water during the December floods, but we do what we had to do,” he adds.