CHENNAI: Mismanagement of water, sewage, garbage and traffic have been the perennial problems faced by three lakh-odd residents along the Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR) for more than a decade now.
To ensure that their representatives to be elected are well aware of the woes that plague their locality, the Federation of OMR Residents Associations conducted an interactive session on Sunday with South Chennai candidates contesting the Lok Sabha elections scheduled for April 18.
A list of 10 questions regarding sewage and water connections, toll charges and traffic management had been sent to the candidates prior to the session. At the session, the candidates gave answers to the residents’ questions and afterwards, the residents got their doubts clarified over these issues.
“Every time after a representative is elected, we have to meet them and brief them about our ongoing troubles. Instead, this time we decided to reverse the process. This way, residents also get a clear-cut picture about whom they will be voting for and candidates can also understand what South Chennai really needs,” said Prabha Koda, one of the organisers of the event.
Solid waste segregation at source and installation of extra desalination plants were common points pushed by the South Chennai candidates of the ruling AIADMK and opposition DMK. The only candidate to defer on this topic was R Rangarajan from Makkal Needhi Maiam, who termed desalination plants as a destroyer of the marine ecosystem.
“Decentralising water supply and restoring 40-odd lakes along OMR are the only sustainable solutions to tackle water shortage. Also, in the case of sewage management, more sewage treatment plants must be set up along OMR. The present 18-MLD plant at Sholinganallur is insufficient because of which waterbodies are polluted,” said Rangarajan.
On the other hand, J Jayavardhan, sitting MP of South Chennai and also AIADMK candidate for the ensuing elections, emphasised the need to restore existing waterbodies and construct a road overbridge from Madhya Kailash to Siruseri to reduce traffic jams.
“Garbage pile-up is another issue that needs attention in this constituency. If re-elected, I plan to open more compost pits and encourage segregation at source at the household-level. This way only 20 per cent of solid waste must go to the Perungudi dumpyard,” he added.
DMK candidate Thamizhachi Thangapandian promised to make coordination between different civic bodies more efficient to tackle local civic issues. Reclaiming the Pallikaranai marshland and setting-up of sanitary napkin-vending machines and multi-level car parking in three locations were her other promises.