Saravanan's Blog

When Chennai Mayor M Subramanian could order renovation of big parks like Tower Park at Anna Nagar and Thiru Vi Ka Park at Shenoy Nagar, why this step-motherly treatment meted out to smaller parks in the locality? This question haunts residents of L Block and Kambar Colony, which have a children's park and a playground respectively, but both in a shambles for over a year now. After receiving complaints from residents in this connection, our reporter visited the places and spoke to a few residents. Kumar, a fifth standard student of a local school, said, 'In school, everyone from the physical education teacher to the principal insist upon us to spend time in parks for fresh air. But the park which is close to my house at L Block is more or less in dilapidated condition and I risk getting infected with diseases if I visit or play there.' 'The park at L Block is in such a state that no one can go anywhere near it to have fun. It is sad,' another boy said. 'The...

The tussle between TNHB office complex, Thirumangalam, and the residents of Asiad Colony, over illegal use (according to residents) of drainage service by the former, is reaching flash point as the residents plan to stage a protest pressing their demands. The residents say that the board, for its commercial interests, is creating an adverse environment near the peaceful and well-maintained residential colony. It may be noted that several weeklies carried a news item about the issue a year ago. The TNHB officials then held talks with the residents and promised to solve the problem as early as possible. Things were smooth for a few months. But the same problem of drainage overflow at the Asiad Colony has again started and strained the relationship between the two. Speaking to this reporter Ratnasingam, president of Asiad Colony Flat Owners' Welfare Association, said, 'We want a permanent solution to this problem. Asiad Colony has 312 flats with a population of about 3000. The co...

Most people after a bypass surgery or a serious illness are afraid to return to an active life, they say they are not able to keep up with others. But that does not seem to be the case. Take 75 year-old J B Shah, he is a real turnaround. Shah, who had under gone a critical bypass surgery almost three years ago and advised to stay indoors has shown that one can bounce back to a new life. 'They only have to practise pranayam,' he said. Today not only is he back to his normal way of life, he also helps many shape their lives without problems. It is a sort of 'giving back to society' says J B Shah. He was a busy man once, Shah could not able to sit idle at home after the surgery, found a new lease of life. While convalescing, he came to know that pranayam, ( breath control) would help him a lot in recuperation and it would even make him fit to venture outside. So, he gathered all information about it through a popular television show, broadcast in the mornings. He did no...

A traffic restriction, which came into force from the first week of this month on the movement of heavy vehicles on the National Highway-4, has (relatively) eased congestion on several roads including the busiest stretch in the locality, Koyambedu Roundtana to Padi junction. After the introduction of the restriction, motorists are a lot happy. As movement of heavy goods vehicles and container-laden trailers are prohibited both ways on National Highway 4 (Chennai to Bangalore) from the junction of Chennai Bypass (Maduravoyal junction) to the Madhavaram flyover junction (on NH 5) between 8 am and 9 pm. Narendran, a resident of Korattur, said, 'After the introduction of this restriction, traffic on this stretch has become smooth. Earlier, it was so terrible that many motorists bound for Korattur and Ambattur areas started using the 'not-so good' Park Road, Anna Nagar West Extension, to reach TVS Lucas junction to avoid getting stuck at Padi Junction.' 'Now that (Park)...

Here comes good news for Anna Nagar residents who have expressed and persistently advocated for a multi-purpose hall at Anna Nagar. On 2 August, Chennai Mayor M Subramanian along with a team of officials visited Anna Nagar and identified a suitable location for the hall and ordered the officials to speed up the process to set it up. Confirming the spot identified for this project, Assistant Commissioner of Zone-V M Krishnamurthy told this reporter that 'a vacant plot of around 90 grounds in A Block, located near the local MLA office and Crescent Park, has been identified as the place for constructing the multipurpose hall'. According to sources in the Corporation, the Mayor had ordered his officials to complete the 'survey and layout' works within a month. It may be noted that the need for such hall at Anna Nagar, the one like P T Thiyagaraya Hall at T Nagar, has been felt for quite sometime now. A few months ago, for the first time the issue over the hall was br...