Expectations shy high from elected members of TN local bodies

The recently-held local body polls in Tamil Nadu have added feather to the existing cap of the ruling government. In most places, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) members won and were sworn-in key in posts like mayors, municipal chairman, Panchayat presidents. Even though key decisions related to policies are made by the ministersand MLAs, as far as the civic issues are concerned, the roles of a local-body members are inevitable. Partners across the state face various problems and their expectations from the newly-elected members are very high.

At the Ritchie street, which is one of the largest IT markets in India, parking space and irregular traffic are said to be one of the major problems for the partners. "We are facing tough times while entering and going out of the street. Since the street is so small, because of the traffic, we cannot walk freely," said Suresh, 26, a frequent visitor-cum-buyer of gadgets at the Ritchie Street. "The corporation officials should take some initiatives to clean the garbage and waste materials in such a crowded street," says a partner who has his shop on the street.

If parking is the key problem for the partners in Chennai, encroachment is one for partners in Coimbatore. "We will be very happy if the encroachments on the platform shops in the 100-feet road are regulated," said R Rajinikanth, a partner from Coimbatore. Rajinikanth also added that the roads have to be maintained in such a way that it could face all weather conditions as well as the hygienic aspect of the city has to be increased overall. Madurai, another major booming IT hub in Tamil Nadu has same problems. "Three key issues should be addressed in Madurai city immediately-proper maintenance of roads inside the city and making it free from waste materials, appropriate sanitation facilities and the regulatory measures for parking as, today, even well-informed people too do not obey parking rules," said SV Selvasekaran from Madurai.

Likewise, the partners in tier-2 cities also expect more from their new representatives. "We expect a lot from the newly-elected members as they belong to the ruling government. They can get the work easily done. There are lot of changes to be done in uplifting the town especially when it comes to regulation of low-bridges and irregular traffics," told K Nagaraju, a partner from Thanjavur. He also added that Thanjavur, even though an agrioriented town, acts also as a key IT market and should be developed as one of the leading IT-hub in the state by making some IT investments there.