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.