1 month ago
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Though Velachery became a abstracted constituency successful 2008 aft the delimitation workout and has seen Assembly elections successful 2011, 2016, and 2021, residents assertion it remains undeveloped connected assorted fronts.
Residents person voiced interest implicit the regular flooding of the area, which they property to mediocre attraction of the Velachery water and the encroachments choking it. In addition, they mention mediocre roadworthy conditions and the dense postulation congestion caused by encroachments arsenic pertinent issues. The caller Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) enlargement though, has been welcomed.
The constituency comprises localities specified arsenic West Velachery, Taramani, Adyar, Thiruvanmiyur, Besant Nagar, and portions of Kanagam and Adambakkam. A cardinal constituency successful the city, Velachery has developed into a thickly populated residential country with planned layouts, but its earthy topography — it is simply a low-lying country — makes astir of the residential localities susceptible to flooding during the Northeast monsoon each year. This is attributed to the run-off from the Velachery lake, arsenic discharge to the Pallikaranai marshland is blocked owed to missing links successful the storm-water drain network.
Encroachment woes
The lake, 1 of the biggest successful the city, receives inflows from galore residential areas. However, the lack of a bund connected the northbound side, the nonaccomplishment to desilt and deepen the lake, encroachments, and amerciable sewage inlets origin it to overflow wrong a fewer hours of dense rains, starring to repetitive flooding.
S. Kumararaja, an office-bearer of the Federation of Velachery Residents’ Welfare Association, said the lake, which was erstwhile a boon for the residents of Velachery successful maintaining the groundwater level, had go the bane of respective residential areas on the Pallikaranai Marshland owed to the deficiency of due drainage facilities.
Mr. Kumararaja said a immense information of the water vanished aft operation of the Velachery Bypass Road arsenic encroachments sprung up, and the lack of a bund connected the northbound broadside of the lake. Major governmental parties person made promises of desilting the water for expanding retention capableness and renovating it into a boating facility, but the water remains successful a neglected state, bearing grounds to unfulfilled promises.
Residents of westbound Velachery accidental they person constricted nationalist transport facilities | Photo Credit: M. Srinath
Meanwhile, residents of West Velachery, too, are disquieted by flooding caused by the aforesaid water and the inadequate drain web to transportation the excess stormwater to the Veerangal Odai.
Transport connectivity
The different large occupation for the residents of West Velachery, consisting of AGS Colony, Andal Nagar, Saraswathi Nagar, and Bhuvaneshwari Nagar, has been the deficiency of a large entree road, akin to the Inner Ring Road, to nexus it with the Velachery Bypass Road.
They besides emblem the postulation chaos astatine Vijayanagar Junction contempt the operation of monolithic flyovers branching disconnected the Bypass Road to Taramani Link Road and Velachery Main Road. Residents constituent retired that the beingness of the autobus terminus and the regularisation connected two-way postulation connected these 2 flyovers person caused postulation snarls astatine the junction, with vehicles queued up for much than fractional a kilometre connected the Taramani Link Road and Velachery Main Road connected occasion. Meanwhile, postulation connected some the flyovers remains low, portion congestion continues below.
Severe postulation congestion prevails astatine the Vijayanagar junction | Photo Credit: M. Srinath
S. Pattabhiraman, a nonmigratory of Ram Nagar, said erstwhile the Velachery railway presumption was established respective years ago, the State authorities had planned a multi-modal transport installation by allotting immense onshore parcels connected the southbound broadside of the presumption for the operation of a caller autobus terminus akin to the installation successful Kilambakkam. However, the task was not taken up for much than a decade, helium added.
Long-time residents besides wanted the 110-kilo volt (KV) energy substation to beryllium upgraded into a 230-KV substation. The substation located connected Velachery Main Road could not beryllium expanded owed to onshore constraints, though powerfulness depletion has been expanding heavily.
Geetha Ganesh, caput of AGS Colony Residents Welfare Association, said the long-pending request for a nonstop roadworthy connecting the residents of West Velachery to the Bypass Road has been pending for much than 35 years.
The residents’ payment associations person fixed respective petitions to the elected representatives for acquiring vacant lands of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment Department for constructing the roadworthy but nary steps person been taken. The residents are forced to instrumentality constrictive roads done MGR Nagar to scope the Bypass Road.
The residents besides demanded an summation successful Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) buses to assorted destinations arsenic lone 1 autobus work -- to T. Nagar -- was being operated from West Velachery. The residents besides demanded the cognition of tiny autobus services to entree the St. Thomas Mount and the Adambakkam railway stations.
