North Chennai comes together to fight bad reputation, hasten growth
With the formation of the Federation of North Chennai Residents Welfare Association by 90 RWAs from Ennore to Ambattur, residents aim to erase the notoriety of the area, and also bring in many of the infrastructural projects that have been implemented in south Chennai. DT Next reports
DK Shanmugam, treasurer of the newly-formed federation, speaking at the event on Sunday
CHENNAI: North Chennai has had the unsubstantiated reputation of being a crime hub, which not only affected the developmental projects of the region but it also sidelined the sporting talent and architectural history from the British period.
To fix the reputation, 90 residents welfare associations (RWAs) from Ennore to Ambattur formed the Federation of North Chennai Residents Welfare Association (FNCRWA) on Sunday to ensure the State government addresses grievances and implements various developmental projects.
“North Chennai is perceived as a criminal enterprise filled with slum-dwellers and uneducated people. It’s one of the most populated areas compared to central and south Chennai. People from various parts of the State and country have settled in north Chennai for their livelihood. Portrayal of the neighbourhood in movies added to the bad reputation. And, the crimes reported in the area have prevented developmental works from being implemented here,” opined DK Shanmugam, treasurer, FNCRWA, told DT Next.
The federation members have approached police officials to take strict action against drug addicts and also prevent the sale of drugs in north Chennai. They have also requested the film industry to stop portraying the area as a criminal hub. “Though crimes are reported across the city, people believe that north Chennai has the highest crime rate. This perception needs to change. The State government must help us achieve that, and we’ll never stop fighting until that happens,” pointed out Shanmugam.
The RWAs of north Chennai have urged the State government to extend the Metro Rail project in north Chennai till Ennore. They lamented over the fact that infrastructural projects are launched only in south Chennai, whereas the northern part of the city has been neglected even during natural disasters.
“Through the federation, we want to hasten the implementation of infrastructure facilities in the neighbourhood, submit grievances to the respective departments and address the issue at the earliest. The State government should also act immediately when complaints are submitted, just as it does in other parts of the city,” opined G Balu, president, People Welfare Association, MGR Nagar.
Similarly, service departments have turned a blind eye to the civic issues in north Chennai. Residents complained that many places were inundated during the northeast monsoon in the last two years, but no immediate action was taken by the local body. Though the monsoon is less than two months away, the Corporation has not carried out preparatory works in various parts of north Chennai.
K Prabhu, Anna Nagar RWA, Korukkupet, stated that many civic issues, including road re-laying, have been rectified by the Corporation authorities only after multiple complaints were raised over the last few months. “It has been a long-pending demand to construct a railway gate at Korukkupet station. But government officials are dismissive of our demands and do not address the issue. We want to raise the issue to the department through the federation in the hope they would act immediately,” averred Prabhu.
