Chennai: Muniamma* makes a living selling flowers by the Broadway bus depot.
A self-confessed fan of MGR and his movies, her dream is to watch a Tamil film at a “periya theatre” (multiplex), but her meagre earnings won’t permit it.
When Greater Chennai Corporation under Mayor Saidai Duraisamy announced in February 2014 that the local body would build Amma theatres and that they would screen new Tamil films at cheap rates, she was elated. But two years on, the corporation has not made significant headway in the project and Muniamma’s dream has not turned true.
On Friday, when the AIADMK-majority council presents the budget for one last time before the expiry of its term in October, the opposition would want to point out to Duraisamy some of the non-starters that he had endorsed in the last five years.
For instance, the proposal to widen 21 roads, including 14 major roads which were announced in May 2014, has not happened. Arcot Road, Nelson Manickam Road, Sardar Patel Road, LB Road, Santhome High Road were among the roads identified for widening to help reduce traffic congestion. But the reality is that congestion has doubled, whereas the roads have not.
“It is impossible to ride on Arcot Road or Nelson Manickam Road during peak hours. Such is the traffic congestion but there is no other option for people like us. We have to get to our workplaces,” said Valayapathy, a motorist.
Even flyovers, the ready-made solution for the corporation to solve congestion on roads, have not come up. The North and South Usman Road flyovers continue to be two separate grade separators, despite plans to conjoin them, and Velachery Main Road and Madhya Kailash, where proposals to build flyovers were announced, continue to be traffic hot spots.
Congestion has not only crippled traffic movement, it has also eliminated space for cyclists on the road. In this backdrop, the corporation’s March 2013 proposal to create dedicated cycle tracks would have helped. But it has not materialised.
“Cyclists’ safety has been compromised and I think that is one thing dedicated cycle tracks would have addressed. Besides, cyclists help reduce carbon footprint of a city,” said Ganesh Janakiraman, Ekattuthangal resident, and a cycling enthusiast.
Though the local body insists that it is serious about implementing Non-Motorised Transport policy, its inability to set up pedestrian plazas in T Nagar, Chepauk and Mylapore, as announced in 2013, or implementing a cycle sharing system will be seen as nothing but failures. A proposal to construct skywalks in Parry’s and Mambalam is also in limbo.
“Coordination between various agencies has been the problem for the
corporation in implementing these pedestrian friendly projects. The
feasibility and financial studies for the projects are all underway but with the election dates close, it is unlikely that the corporation will call tenders.
The rest depends on which party’s government is in place after elections,” said Advait Jani of ITDP, the agency assisting the corporation with NMT-related proposals.
*Name changed on request
