‘Adaptive reuse’ of concrete planters on Agaram Main Road does not make for a pretty picture

Selaiyur-Thiruvanchery, Agaram Main Road: Everyday beingness offers a low-slung, packed grab-bag of examples to exemplify the thought of adaptive reuse. Let america propulsion retired three. The amusing one: an workout bicycle reused arsenic apparel hanger. The astute one: a practice bungalow restructured as a restaurant. The apathetic one: factual roadside planters “reused” arsenic convenient spots to dump garbage.

Obviously, the past 1 is abuse, not reuse. And the thought of adapative reuse tin beryllium applied successful this lawsuit lone successful the garb of utmost euphemism, which would inactive beryllium ill-fitting. Concrete roadside planters at Agaram Main Road are misappropriated for dumping garbage. These planters near unused, the void is being filled successful an unacceptable manner. 

Maintained by the State highways, the wide Agaram Main Road sports these planters connected some sides to abstracted the carriageway from the work lane. Designed to bring colour and ocular alleviation to the road, these planters nevertheless impart squalor to it. The planters are abused successful assorted ways and varying degrees, antithetic varieties of discards being “showcased” successful them. The apathy is obscurity arsenic pronounced arsenic astatine Bhavani Nagar in Thiruvanchery. 

This conception is conscionable extracurricular the doorway of Tambaram Municipal Corporation, lying in Thiruvanchery. All decks person reportedly been cleared to have Thiruvanchery subsumed in Tambaram Municipal Corporation; arsenic with astir different things, the past escaped thread takes clip being tied. It is simply a substance of clip before Thiruvanchery and Tambaram are spoken of successful 1 breath. 

Back to the planters. A sticky past of dense garbage dumping clings to the factual planters on the Bhavani Nagar conception of Agaram Main Road. A committee undersigned by Thiruvanchery gram panchayat warns of enactment against litterbugs sullying those planters with garbage, brandishing the “weapon” of CCTV cameras. It comes crossed arsenic mere, gassy bluster arsenic those CCTV cameras are not to beryllium found, and garbage dumping continues with impunity. 

Garbage dumped by the nationalist is cleared by the section civic assemblage successful an unending Sisyphean cycle; their is nary extremity to the dumping. 

Following its widening by the authorities highways department, Agaram Main Road began to beryllium amusement disconnected these planters and that was an accidental for shops located close down them to beautify their contiguous space. 

Only seldom does 1 announcement shops taking ownership of the planters to rise plants and support them. Among these redeeming features is the greenery raised and maintained by the outlet of a well-known eatery chain. 

Rather than waiting for shops to instrumentality complaint of these planters, Tambaram Municipal Corporation and different section civic bodies specified as Thiruvanchery panchayat wrong whose limits this roadworthy runs, should guarantee these planters service the intent they were built for, and not lend themselves to this inglorious signifier of adaptive reuse. Though Agaram Main Road (known as Tambaram Eastern Bypass) is maintained by the authorities highways, the section civic bodies could see attraction of these planters conscionable for their good. Raising greenery successful these planters would spare them the workload of clearing the garbage that accumulates successful them from clip to time.