Chennai: Protesting against apathy of authorities to solve various civic issues for several years, voters in the commercial hub of Chennai have decided to cast their votes in favour of NOTA on April 18. Members of T Nagar Residents Welfare Association have planned to cast their votes in favour of NOTA as their long standing demands were rejected by the authorities for more than 13 years.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, secretary of the association B. Kannan said members of the association have planned to vote for NOTA en masse as the authorities have failed to redress various issues faced by the residents.
Kannan said, “We have been fighting with the authorities including CMDA, Chennai corporation for more than 13 years to draw their attention to various issues. We have approached almost all the officials. However, the issues such as drinking water problem, sewage, disposal of garbage and encroachment remained unsolved”. “I have been living in the area since 1973 and for the first time bore wells in several parts of the areas have gone dry,” Kannan said.
The association, which was registered in 2011, has more than 3,500 members and it includes almost all the residents in T Nagar, which includes, Mahalakshmi Street, Motilal Street, Natesan Street, Ramasamy Street, North and South Usman Road. VS Jayaraman, founder member of the association, said unlike people in other areas, TN residents face various serious issues including garbage, encroachments and building violations. All the commercial establishments including textile and jewelry giants pose several problems to residents. After 10.30 pm everyday, these shops dump huge pile of garbage on the streets and roads posing threat to the environment and health of the residents. Water table has gone down drastically as these companies dug have more than 500 ft to 600 ft deep bore wells in area.
He alleged that the residents were affected by huge flow of traffic and police remained mute spectator.
Without regularising the traffic and clearing encroachments the authorities are implementing Smart City project and widening the pavements. They also planning to introduce one way in Panagal park. This would help the encroachers to occupy the widened pavements. The authorities hae planned to set up a skywalk at an estimate of Rs 32 crore. “Highlighting these civic issues, we are planning to opt for NOTA”, he said.
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