Encroachments on Injambakkam beach removed

By G Saravanan

Published in The New Indian Express, Chennai on Feb 4, 2012:

Source:http://expressbuzz.com/cities/chennai/Encroachments-on-Injambakkam-beach-removed/359999.html

CHENNAI: With the Madras High Court directing removal of beachside encroachments along the Injambakkam Beach within four weeks, the Kancheepuram district authorities have started pulling down structures in the area.

Sources said local authorities, led by Sholinganallur Tahsildar Govindarajan, launched the drive on Wednesday and recovered over 15 acres of prime land worth over Rs 100 crore, kept illegally by some politically influential people. It may be noted that Express had, in June 2009, carried a news report on how the officials were turning a blind eye on the beachside encroachments at Injambakkam.

“The officials have begun  work. The district authorities dilly-dallied when the High Court directed the official machinery to remove encroachments on a previous occasion. But this time, they were forced to act,” Nature Trust founder ‘Injambakkam’ H Sekar told Express.

A local resident who waged a legal battle to retrieve the encroached land, Sekar said he is glad to see things back on track. Braving several intimidation attempts, he had filed a writ petition in the  HC in 2008 seeking removal of all illegal and unauthorised constructions in survey nos 2,7, 8, 11, 12 and 15 along Injambakkam Beach.

Tahsildar Govindarajan said they had started pulling down structures along the beachfront. “The demolition drive will continue for few more days,’’ he said.


READ OLD STORY:
http://andamansaravanan.blogspot.in/2009/06/big-time-encroachers-stay-put.html

Koraikuppam Fishermen give ultimatum to government

Published in The New Indian Express, Chennai on Feb 4, 2012:

Source:http://expressbuzz.com/cities/chennai/fishermen-give-ultimatum-to-government/359895.html

CHENNAI: Fishermen families hailing from Koraikuppam fishing hamlet near Pulicat Lake on Friday served a one-month ultimatum to the government authorities to finalise their rehabilitation plans.

Addressing the demonstration organised by South Indian Fishermen Welfare Association (SIFWA) near Chennai Collectorate, Raji Chettiyar, the fishing hamlet’s head said, “In 2004, we suffered and lost six lives to the natural disaster tsunami. For the past seven years, we have been suffering without proper rehabilitation, thanks to  government apathy.”

“We have waited for the past several years but nothing has been done to rehabilitate us. Hence, we have issued a one-month deadline to the government to end our sufferings,” Raji said. “If the government fails to show any kind of interest in settling our perennial problem of housing near the sea, fishermen families will be forced to adopt new strategies to pressurise the authorities,” Raji warned.

Members of 130 fishermen families from the fishing hamlet, including dozens of school-going students from the coastal village, participated in the demonstration seeking proper rehabilitation from the authorities.

Talking to City Express, K Bharathi, president of SIFWA, said, “Since the issue of rehabilitation was seen as a paramount problem for them for the last seven years, there was a tremendous response from the villagers for the token demonstration.”

Bharathi added, “The families are not asking anything big from the state government. They just want proper rehabilitation without disturbing their traditional rights of living near the sea.”
Meanwhile, SIFWA has decided to send reminder letters to the CM J Jayalalithaa, Tiruvallur District Collector and Tsunami rehabilitation officials in the coming days.

Sell plastic waste to Corporation at Rs 20 a kg

By G Saravanan
Published in The New Indian Express, Chennai on Feb 2, 2012:
Source:http://expressbuzz.com/cities/chennai/Sell-plastic-waste-to-Corporation-at-Rs-20-a-kg/359229.html


CHENNAI: The trash in your kitchen has now acquired value. To encash it, all you need to do is segregate the plastic waste at home and sell it to the Chennai Corporation for as much as Rs 20 a kg. They want it for relaying the battered roads in the city.



According to Ripon Building sources, the Corporation has already initiated the process to fix norms to procure plastic of low microns from the public for use with bitumen while relaying roads. That will kill two birds with one stone: your neighbourhood will be free of non-biodegradable waste and the roads will be able to withstand the wear and tear. It will also put some money in your pocket.
To complete road-relaying, the civic body estimated that it would need 800 tonnes of waste plastic and launched a special drive last month to collect it at its 200 ward offices. Yet, it has been able to collect only 110 tonnes so far.
“We have about 10,000... staff and if they collect one kilo of such plastic, the civic body would be able to get 10 tonnes of plastic waste everyday,” said a senior Ripon Building official.

To create awareness about the drive, the civic body has planned to rope in school children and residents’ welfare associations. As CM J Jayalalithaa is keen on improving the quality of the city roads, Commissioner PWC Davidar had issued an instruction not to relay roads without the plastic mix.

Koraikuppam fishermen want houses near sea

By G Saravanan

Published in The New Indian Express, Chennai on Jan 30, 2012:

Source:http://expressbuzz.com/cities/chennai/koraikuppam-fishermen-want-houses-near-sea/358200.html

CHENNAI: More than 130 families of fishermen, living in Tsunami-battered houses in Koraikuppam, a coastal hamlet near Pulicat in Ponneri Taluk limits, have appealed to Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa to construct new houses for them on nearby high ground.

Though an non-government organisation had constructed about 100 houses for these families post-tsunami, they remain unoccupied for over four years, as they are located far away from the shoreline and are hence unsuitable for carrying out their traditional fishing activities.

“When the authorities were finalising an area amidst agricultural lands for the new houses, we objected to the location as fishermen cannot live in interior land as it is natural for us to live by the sea,” Raji Chettiyar, village head of the fishing hamlet, told Express.

However, the officials, gave scant regard to our livelihood options, completed the housing project in a hurry, Raji added.

As the previous Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government failed to hear the grievances of the fishermen despite numerous pleas, the villages has written to Chief Minister Jayalalithaa hoping for her intervention.

Speaking to Express, K Bharathi, president of South Indian Fishermen Welfare Association (SIFWA) who wrote the letter to the Chief Minister on behalf of the affected, said: “The fishermen families, who are feeling cheated with the attitude of the previous DMK government despite representing the issue time and again, hopes for a kind-hearted intervention from Chief Minister Amma.”

The tsunami-affected have suggested a new location to the State government, a higher ground (vacant land belonging to the Revenue Department) along the shore in Koraikuppam fishing hamlet.

CHENNAI CORPORATION: No more bickering during Corpn Council meets: Mayor

Published in The New Indian Express, Chennai on Jan 28, 2012:

Source:http://expressbuzz.com/cities/chennai/no-more-bickering-during-corp-meets-mayor/357586.html

CHENNAI: Taking strong exception to the repeated brawls breaking out inside the Corporation during council meetings between DMK and AIADMK members, Mayor S Duraisamy ordered the ruling party members to adhere to the decorum of the House or face eviction.

Reprimanding a group of AIADMK members, who began a verbal duel with the opposition DMK members, Duraisamy said, “When a Mayor calls for normalcy inside the House, all the members, even if they are from the ruling party, have to obey it. If you (AIADMK members) denounce the order, I will not hesitate to order eviction to bring order to the Council.” 
The issue was triggered by the Open Space Reservation (OSR) violations by the DMK head office, Anna Arivalayam.

Irked with the attitude shown by a group of AIADMK councillors, Duraisamy further added, “Actions such as entering into a brawl or using unparliamentary words against the opposition DMK councillors would only defame the reputation of Amma (Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa) and I don’t want any such embarrassment to the Puratchi Thalaivi, especially from the Chennai Corporation Council proceedings.”

He went on to chide the councillors, many of whom were women, “If you want to prove your muscle power, go outside (The Ripon Buildings)and prove wherever you want. This historic Council Hall is a place for healthy discussions and this tradition should be honoured at any cost,” he said firmly.

It may be noted that the Mayor had, in last month’s council meet, also taken umbrage to the fact that AIADMK councillors were provoking DMK councillors to stage walkouts for no valid reason. “The House has a decorum which elected members should give due reverence to. We should only witness heated debates - fist-fights are not good for a healthy democracy,” Duraisamy advised the members, in closing.

CM nod sought for action against ex-Mayor

Published in The New Indian Express on Jan 28, 2012:

Source:http://expressbuzz.com/cities/chennai/cm-nod-sought-for-action-against-ex-mayor/357708.html

CHENNAI: The AIADMK-led Chennai Corporation council on Friday sought the nod of Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa to initiate legal action against former Mayor M Subramanian for allegedly misusing his post.

Announcing the decision to the House during the monthly Council meet, Mayor Saidai S Duraisamy, who was responding to a query raised by a AIADMK councillor G Kandhan (Ward-172), said, “Former Mayor Subramanian, with vested interests, widened the Riverview Road that runs along the Adyar River in Kotturpuram, to promote a real estate firm owned by a relative of a former DMK transport minister K N Nehru.”

As promised in last month’s Council meet, Duraisamy submitted a report on the irregularities committed by the then mayor Subramanian to benefit the former chief minister M Karunanidhi and former minister Nehru.

While submitting the report in the House, Duraisamy said, “Preliminary reports have confirmed that the then mayor had violated Corporation rules and misused his authority to benefit a few frontline DMK leaders.”

The road, which was hardly 15 feet wide, was widened to about 60 feet without the required permission from the PWD, which possesses the land for the purpose of mitigating flood water from the Adyar River during monsoon seasons, he said.

“During the probe for real facts behind the road widening issue, it has clearly emerged that the then Mayor Subramanian clandestinely misused his official position and bent the civic body’s rules to suit the realtor close to former minister Nehru,” Duraisamy charged.

Kodungaiyur Garbage issue: Mayor promises action

Source:http://expressbuzz.com/cities/chennai/kodungaiyur-garbage-issue-mayor-promises-action/357695.html

CHENNAI: Highlighting the problem faced by residents of north Chennai because of garbage dumping at Kodungaiyur yard, Perambur MLA A Soundararajan on Friday appealed to Mayor Saidai S Duraisamy to redress the issue immediately.

Addressing councillors during the monthly Council meet here at Ripon Building, Soundararajan said, “People living in and around Kodungaiyur are suffocating due to the stench emanating from the yard where there is indiscriminate dumping of garbage. An immediate solution would help them.”

While promising a permanent solution to the issue within a year, Duraisamy said that the dumping activities at Kodungaiyur were on even before the arrival of residential areas near it.

However, Soundararajan immediately intervened and asserted that facts have to be recorded correctly in the House and the fact is that the dumping activities (at Kodungaiyur) had began in 1982 only while residential colonies in the area were in existence since 1972.

Reacting to the MLA’s rebuttal, Duraisamy assured Soundararajan that Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has more concerns for the Kodungaiyur people than him and the issue would be redressed accordingly. He also invited the MLA to attend the next Council meeting, where garbage-related issues would be debated thoroughly. The MLA also raised the issue of frequent burning of garbage inside the yard and the Mayor quickly promised to look into it.