Voters in Tiruvottiyur vexed over tax rise

Voters in the wards falling under Zone 1 (Tiruvottiyur) are irked about a host of issues, ranging from civic complaints that are unattended to property tax that went up manifold after the revision.

Voicing a common gripe, G Maheswaran, treasurer, Kaveri Nagar Residents’ Welfare Association, Tiruvottiyur, noted how the drastic rise in property tax affected the families here. 

“Earlier, we paid around Rs 500 for six months, which was raised to Rs 1,200. They sent demand notice from 2018, which meant the residents have to pay a huge amount as arrears. However, a majority here are unable to pay the tax, as many lost their job during the pandemic,” said Maheswaran.

What has angered them is how the residents in nearby areas like Tollgate and Kaladipet are charged less property tax.

Many also complained about garbage strewn on the street because the cleanliness workers remove the waste only twice a week. Also, the streets are inundated during the rainy season, which damaged the roads in the area. 

The residents said they had lodged complaints, but the civic officials did not take any step to address them. The residents of Ernavoor complained that though the work on drainage network was completed, the officials have not given connection. 

“Because of that, we are facing sewage stagnation even during summer, and gets worse during the monsoon,” said K Venkattaiya, a resident of Ernieswarar Nagar, Ernavoor.

Yet another complaint they have is about the inaccessibility of the burial ground near the railway station. They are either forced to walk across the track or take a circuitous route that is about 10 km. For more than five years, they have been urging the authorities to build a subway, but the requests have fallen on deaf years, they alleged. 

That is not all: there was no park or playground in the locality, and despite there being more than 20,000 people in ward 4, there is no Primary Health Centre there, forcing them to travel 5 km to the nearby clinic.

Taking a pragmatic view, many like Venkattaiya said they were considering voting for the ruling party and its allies so that there was a better chance that their complaints would be resolved quickly.