Tondiarpet zone : Where residents wait for the most basic of amenities

Kodungaiyur dump yard, poor infrastructure, contaminated drinking water are some of the issues that remain unaddressed here

When demands for basic needs remain unfulfilled for years, where is the question of hoping for widespread development in this part of Chennai? This is one common line that runs on the minds of several residents of Tondiarpet zone, which is home to some of the thickly populated areas in north Chennai.

Interactions with a cross-section of residents across the zone, which includes areas in Tondiarpet, Korukkupet, Kodungaiyur, Vyasarpadi, New and Old Washermenpet, showed how residents still long for basic needs such as potable drinking water, proper roads and sanitation.

Except for the metro rail, there has been no drastic infrastructural development in this part of north Chennai over the years, said Mohammed Ayub, a resident of Pensioner’s Lane, Old Washermenpet. 

“When compared to the rest of Chennai, areas in north Chennai see no changes infrastructure-wise. We have to repeatedly raise complaints even for basic needs such as clearing garbage. Waterlogging is one of the main issues in our area, and remains unaddressed. Areas such as Pensioner’s Lane and Kathpada have been facing water logging during rain especially after the metro rail project was implemented and this remains unaddressed,” he said. 

In Kodungaiyur, shifting the dump yard continues to be a long-pending demand for residents. “Now, they have started to transport and dump garbage from areas such as Pallavaram, Tambaram, Ambattur and Villivakkam to the Kodungaiyur site. This is unacceptable as we have been fighting to shift the dump yard. The stench is unbearable. Politicians come here only during elections to seek votes,” N.S. Ramachandra Rao, founder-president of Ever Vigilant Citizens Welfare Association.

He wondered how the garbage dump that now stood at 40-feet height from the road level would be cleared and what would be done to the plastic waste that has accumulated over the decades.

Ganesan Perumal, a resident of Krishnamoorthy Nagar, added that there were about five to six lakh residents in localities that were affected due to the presence of the dump yard including MKB Nagar, Rajarathinam Nagar, Ezhil Nagar, Nethaji Nagar, KKD Nagar, Manali and Union Carbide Colony. “The air is polluted, and there is a pungent smell especially at night. We want the dump yard to be shifted from Kodungaiyur,” he said.