Chennai Mayor tells officials of Ward 74 to form messaging group for grievance redressal

The Area Sabha meeting for Ward 74, Thiru-Vi-Ka Nagar Zone (VI), was held on Wednesday at the ward office of Mayor R. Priya.

At the meeting, one of the residents alleged that officials do not attend their phone calls when they try to reach them. Zonal Officer A.S.Murugan shared the phone number of the official concerned who would be available 24x7 for people to contact with respect to their grievances. The Mayor said that the residents could visit her house and air their grievances. She also instructed the officials to create a WhatsApp group for residents, officials, and area sabha members to facilitate prompt redressal of complaints.

R. Mohan Raj, a resident, thanked the Mayor for restoring the Clock Tower in Perambur Park, and complained about conservancy workers not collecting garbage from households regularly. Officials in the Public Health department of the GCC assured him of action. Residents and area sabha members raised concerns over inadequate street lighting, water supply issues, and blocked sewage and stormwater drains. They also demanded laying of roads and repairing road cuts.

The Mayor said the list of roads to be re-laid had been sent to TUFIDCO (Tamil Nadu Urban Finance and Infrastructure Development Corporation) for approval. Some of the proposals have been rejected since those roads required only maintenance, and funding issues have delayed approvals, she added. Cement roads will be laid temporarily, the Mayor said, adding that it was because, the proposal for this year had already been sent, and changing it to bitumen may take up to six months and involve further complications.

The Mayor stated that tenements on CYS Road were ready and the compound wall work was in progress. An e-Sevai centre would also be established. She explained that the State has assured assistance through CMDA to improve the ward’s community hall, the work of which is expected to cost ₹9 crore.

She said, “Our ward has many small lanes than main roads. In a few of the lanes, machinery cannot be deployed. Otteri Nullah canal is linked to many locations like Jothi Nagar and Rajiv Gandhi Nagar. In such places, workers deploy machines via the main roads for cleaning. So people in the area need to refrain from dumping waste in the canal.”