Come out in open and fight for your rights

K Ramanathan Iyar/Chennai

Despite having good monsoon and almost-to-brim rivers/lakes all around Chennai, safe drinking water is still a distant dream for Chennaites.

It’s actually a booming business for the mushrooming drinking water supply companies in Chennai, which supply bottled-water of various volumes to the denizens. Is this water safe for consumption? Will it protect them from water-born diseases?

G K Nair, vice president of Tharangini residents welfare association in Mogappair West, feels that the water, supplied from these companies is ‘not at all safe’, and alleges that these companies, to get extended profit margin, don’t even follow the purification process.

“Most of the bottles are old; some even damaged and don’t have stickers giving details of the manufacturers and quality standard specification etc. Even worse, I have noticed and complained to our caretaker about pasting of some other company’s stickers on other’s bottles. One of my neighbours found tadpoles inside the water bottle. So, we doubt the quality of the drinking water. Most of the residents here boil water before using it for cooking or drinking purposes. Though this process makes our monthly water bill costlier but we cannot take a chance. We spend around Rs 1,000 per month for drinking water,” he rues.

Recently the city administration has banned a few water-bottling units in and around Chennai for not complying with the rules prescribed by the Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS). But, still, many companies around the southern metro are still floating norms and making huge profits.

It’s shame that the city like Chennai, which boasts itself as one of the ‘leading metros’ of the country, still doesn’t have effective water supply system. Not all residents are lucky to get metro water in their kitchen taps. There are certain ‘posh’ areas where the Chennai Corporation has made arrangements to give metro water connection even to high-rise apartments. In some areas like Kodambakkam, Choolaimedu, residents get water though hand pumps or through water lorries. The worst part is that in fast developing areas like Mogappair and Avadi, the basic infrastructure like potable water and good roads are still a distant dream for the residents, who have purchased their flats for not less than Rs 20 lakhs only a few months ago.

For example, in Alacrity flats in Mogappair, the first residental complex to come up in this part of the city way back in 1995, water is muddy. The association treats the bore water and supplies to the residents. There is no metro water supply to this sprawling area of Chennai, which is under the control of Ambattur Municipality. Residents' associations have to buy water through lorries by paying high premium to fill up their sumps.

Obviously, maintenance cost in these flats has gone up and residents, who already under severe stress due to prevailing high rent, have to bear the brunt of the additional water bill.

But again, who bothers? The city is growing leaps and bounds. But for the basic things like transport, water, power and roads, people have to struggle hard and compromise for substandard life style.

Thanks to people’s high degree of patience level, the corporation or municipality doesn’t even feel fit to improve the living condition of these residents.

As the say goes in Tamil, “Only crying kid gets the milk”; unless people voice their rights, nothing is going to change in our ‘Singara’ Chennai even after 50 years.

Adding more chaos to the ‘City of Chaos’

K Ramanathan Iyar/Chennai

“Soon, one-way traffic movement will be introduced in busy roads of Chennai. The State Government and the Chennai City Police have decided to make commuting in the Metro a motorist-friendly experience by regulating movement of traffic.”

What a great move by the City’s so-called ‘thinkers’ to make the ‘City of Chaos’ even more chaotic. This shows the lack of ‘proactive’ thinking by the city’s bigwigs, who always try to find a ‘quick-fix’ solution to any civic issue.

Here onwards people would have to travel more in the city to reach their destinations and thereby up their travel bills. The government’s decision would also increase the state’s petroleum consumption and hence add more burden on India’s oil needs in the international market. The decision would also have a staggering impact on state’s economy.

When cities like Chandigarh, Thiruvananthapuram, Pune and Bangalore are planning ahead of 10 years by constructing more bridges and roads, this southern metropolis is talking in terms of taking the city backward.

Already most of the multinational companies in Chennai are ruing for poor ‘infrastructure’ and thinning of profit margins due to heavy travel costs etc, the decision to make most of city roads ‘one-way’ would only scare them away to nearby states which have better infrastructure like roads and rail links to ship their products to various places within India and abroad.

Already several roads such as Arcot road connecting Kodambakkam and Vadapalani and Kodambakkam Bridge to Anna Flyover had been made as one way zone long ago giving more inconvenience to commuters during peek time.

People have been witnessing the congestion on the Kodambakkam High Road/ Bridge since four decades. What the subsequent governments (DMK or AIADMK) have done to de-congest the city roads other than fighting among themselves for power?

The Kodambakkam Bridge connects important places in Chennai like Ashok Nagar, Saligramam, Virugambakkam, Porur and Poonamalli, which even links southern cities like Bangalore. Same with the case of T Nagar, the shopping hub of the city.

Instead of making roads only for one-way movement of vehicles, the government should broaden all city roads by removing encroachments and illegal constructions. Several roads are unfit even for pedestrian use; they should be repaired and tarred. For this task, private parties should be engaged to avoid pilferage of public funds.

The money collected through road tax from vehicle users should be properly utilized to repair roads. Effective drainage system should be constructed along the roads so as to avoid waterlogging during rainy seasons, which is the major cause of road damage.

The corporation can even take over some of the residential areas for construction of alternate routes to regulate traffic by paying adequate compensation to the owners of building or plots. These people should also be given alternate land or house in an area, which has adequate civic facilities.

If the government really wants to solve the ever-growing traffic problems in the city and make the city a truly ‘world class’ one as being claimed by some of the political leaders, they should call up top architects of India to design the ‘Modern Chennai’ instead of relaying on the ‘incompetent’ and ‘corrupt’ officials of the Corporation and Municipality.

Chennai-Bangalore highway: Toll makes Big Hole on Commuters' Pockets!

K Ramanathan Iyar/Chennai

It’s a great irony that to cross a distance of about 350 kilometers from Chennai to Bangalore by road, the drivers have to cough up a toll tax, not once or twice, but at five different places.
The sudden increase of travel cost has resulted in a steep rise (almost double) of ticket prices in buses and charted vehicles plying between these two southern cities.
There is no dispute that National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has been doing a commendable job of maintaining the road. To realize the construction and maintenance expenses, the NHAI is charging from the road users.
But five toll centers for such a short distance is too much, feel many commuters from Inter-state bus terminus in Chennai and Bangalore.
As the public outcry to this issue is conspicuously absent, the exploitation by the central authority continues. The common man is now left with no option but to pay the hefty charge of Rs 200 to visit either of the two cities. However, the train fare to Chennai or Bangalore stands less than Rs 100.
Earlier travellers used to prefer roadways over train due to convenient timing of buses and less ticket fare. However, due the sudden hike of ticket prices by both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu state buses, many of them now turn to trains; by somehow placing themselves in the crowded ‘unreserved’ compartments.
The worst hit are the weekend travellers, as majority of them working in one city, want to visit the other side to be with their family.
On the contrary, the NHAI, which maintains the 250-km-long national highway between Delhi and Chandigarh, charges a toll tax only once. But here too, the construction of five-lane roads would ultimately end up commuters paying more tax in the coming days.
Again who cares? In the absence of opposition from public, press and like-minded agencies, the toll bridges across Chennai-Bangalore continue to take heavy toll on the hapless commuters’ pockets.
Is any one listening?

A matter of extreme lajja

India is known for its religious tolerance, but the recent incidents suggest that religious intolerance is on the rise in the country. Though Hindu fundamentalists have shown their displeasure and dismay on various occasions, no one has ever threatened to ‘behead’ a person for allegedly hurting their religious sentiments.

It was therefore shocking to watch the attack on the celebrated writer Taslima Nasreen in Hyderabad by MIM activists and the subsequent threat by Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen leader and legislator in AP assembly Akbaruddin Owaisi to behead the writer if she visits the city again.

The whole world watched this ‘shameful’ act on TV. Some intellecutals condemned this ‘spineless’ attack on a woman but most politicians chose to maintain an enigmatic silence.

The fact that the perpetuators chose Press Club to assault the writer shows the scant respect the fundamentalists have for media or freedom of the press. In a way, this was an attack on the freedom of press too.

The silence of politicians to the statement of Akbaruddin that anyone who commits blasphemy deserves to be beheaded is, to say the least, scandalous. It needs to be condemned by all quarters of the society, including the media. The legislator is the representative of the people and statements like this can lead to communal disharmony. The government should take a note of it.

Where are the so-called custodians of religious equality and protector of fundamental rights of people gone? No one from the highest office in the government spoke against the incident. Probably they had minorities’ ‘votes’ in their mind.

In a democracy, people can air their views on any subject without fear, but in a peaceful and democratic way. Indulging in violence and threatening to kill a person is totally unIndian and unacceptable. There is no place for such people in India.
Will the Assembly of Andra Pradesh take action against the MIM legislators? If this happens, we can proudly say that India is a secular having country with a high degree of religious tolerance.

Auto menace, 50 years and above

By KR Iyar/Chennai

One can call it a menace, the menace, which has been haunting the hapless Chennaites for the last fifty years. Thanks to the subsequent governement’s apathy to resolve this ‘silent’ issue, which has now become as evergreen as ‘Cauvery conflict’.

It was in late 1957 that the first auto rickshaw was rolled on to Indian roads and subsequently finds its way into various cities, including Chennai. But instead of thanking Rev E Jonathan Schobie, who invented this three-wheeler to transport his sick wife in Japan, the 45,000 odd autowallas in Chennai are habituated in praising either ‘Ayya’ or ‘Amma’ for livelihood, leaving even the gods fuming!

The notoriety of this automobile in Chennai is well known for its inflated meters, loads of ‘foul’ languages from the ‘goons’ on wheel who would coolly ask for extra bucks more than the agreed charges after reaching the destination. Autos are no longer a poor man’s vehicle in this booming southern city.

In the absence of regular checking and effective processing of complaints by police regarding misbehavior of auto drivers and overcharging, etc, these drivers are having field day overcharging hapless commuters.

Since most of the drivers are un-educated, rough and drunkards, people dare to lodge complaint against them fearing their safety. It’s also reliably learnt that few autos are even owned by cops or political bigwigs, thus giving a thrust to the atrocities of these three-wheeled monsters.

But who cares? Thanks to the enormous patients of the people of Chennai. They are known for their ‘keeping-quiet’ policy for any unlawful acts around them. They don’t bother if the roads are not repaired for years, for insufficient power supply, muddy drinking water, dark streets, etc.

So one way the people are also responsible for the auto menace. Had it been in North or even in Kerala, people would have reacted strongly for such unlawful activities and exploitation.

Recently in Kozhikode a group of women took to streets with brooms in their hands to protest in front of an electricity office for irregular power supply. The fault was attended immediately. Here in Chennai, despite having so many people’s forums, very few would assemble for such cause. But there is always a huge crowd for political meets or to watch an actor.

The reasons for the relentless atrocities of the auto rickshaws are many. One of the major reasons is that the monopoly of the local drivers and their strong Association. There is no influx of people from nearby states to take up this job as local language is the ‘must’ for anyone to survive in this profession. So, virtually there is no competition for local drivers.

In northern states like Delhi people from UP, Bihar, Haryana usually take up these kind of jobs along with locals thereby triggering a healthy competition which ultimately benefit people who can bargain to the minimum fare.

As the meters mounted on the rickshaws are just for physical presence, ninety per cent of the drivers would give the inflated price if you ask the favourite and inevitable question - How much do you charge to take me to this place?

There is no habit of using meters by the auto drivers in Chennai. Since most of the meters are tampered ones, even if one insists upon putting the meter on, he or she would end up paying twice the normal fare.

With lack of effective policing and awareness among people, the auto menace continues unabated in this southern metropolis. Recently, when the nuclear-powered submarine USS Nimitz anchored off Chennai coast, its crewmembers were taken for a ‘ride’ by an autowalla.

Instead of the agreed charge of Rs 50 to drop them at a hotel, the driver after reaching the hotel asked for 50 US dollars and created ruckus. To avoid a scene out there, the crew paid the money but promptly complained to the city police chief. Later the auto driver was held and the extra money was recovered from him.

What message these foreigners would have taken to the people of their land? Chennai would always remind them as a ‘land of goons’ instead ‘land of temples’.

It’s high time that the government, media, like-minded people and NGOs come out from deep slumber to find a viable solution to this evergreen problem of Chennai.

Is anyone listening?