Citizen Connect: Pozhichalur villagers demand good roads, but panchayat claims no funds in kitty

The residents of Pozhichalur have been suffering because of lack of good roads in their village. The area also does not have any basic amenities and the officials have not been responding to despite repeated requests.

The Pozhichalur village panchayat consists 15 wards with a population of nearly 40,000. According to soirces, Polichalur village panchayat has the highest number of voters in Kancheepuram district. The village is located at the back of Chennai Airport and comprises Agadeswar Colony, Bhavani Nagar, Commissioner Colony, Anna Nagar, Vinayaga Nagar, Lakshmi Nagar, and Gnanamani Colony.

The villagers have been complaining that they lack basic facilities in their village and are ignored by the politicians who think of them only during election campaigns. The politicians arrive, make promises ahead of every election and never keep their word, claim the residents.

They also claimed that it is difficult for them to use Pozhichalur bus as it is surrounded by piles of garbage and people cannot bear to wait there even for a few minutes because of the stench. The roads too are in a terrible condition especially with the monsoon setting in. Filled with potholes, not only do they make commuting difficult, several bikers have also been injured after skidding on these roads, added the residents.

“Since the roads are in a bad shape, buses are not regular in the village and we need to look for auto-rickshaws or any other mode for transportation. Sometimes even the auto drivers do not want to come to Pozhichalur and those who agree charge double the fare,” said a villager.

J Kamesh, another villager, said, “When wanted to go to the Panchayat office to request for the roads be repaired and the bus stop area be cleaned and maintained, but we could not even reach the office since the roads are bad even there and it’s impossible to walk there in the rain.” He added, “Although we have requested officials to repair the roads and clean the bus stop several times in the past, no action has been taken yet.”

When contacted, the Pozhichalur village panchayat secretary T Shankar, said, “We do not have sufficient funds to carry out such work in the village. We are trying to get the funds from the local MLA and MP and as soon as we get the money, we will be able to carry out all the developmental works.”