Held in haste, GCC makes a joke of area sabha meetings

Chennai: Greater Chennai Corporation's last-minute notice to conduct area sabha meetings on Wednesday irked residents and ward councillors, who said the civic body provided barely any time to prepare. They expressed concern over the decision to hold the meeting on a weekday to discuss crucial issues such as monsoon preparedness, solid waste management, and infrastructure development in their localities.GCC commissioner J Kumaragurubaran directed zonal-level officials and ward councillors to conduct these meetings over three days, from Oct 27 to 29. They were instructed to discuss monsoon-related grievances and address issues at the earliest. Since the commissioner directed that the meets be held within three days, several councillors conducted them on the last day due to recent rains.AIADMK councillor John James of Ward 84 said, "Only 25 residents participated this time, unlike in previous meets. Issues raised included stray dog menace, waterlogging on roads and parks, and lack of pruning in residential areas. These civic concerns will be addressed soon."Members of residents' welfare associations (RWAs) participated in the meetings held across the city, including in Madhavaram, Korattur, Velachery, and Sholinganallur. "We raised the long-pending issue of acquiring private vacant land to construct a wider stormwater drain to prevent waterlogging during monsoon. Illegal sewage discharge into existing drains is a problem in our locality, and we urged officials to take immediate action," said Geetha Ganesh, secretary, AGS Colony RWA, Velachery.A common issue raised across several zones was the poor state of roads. Residents urged civic authorities to re-lay damaged stretches and address traffic congestion caused by haphazard parking. RWAs suggested regular patrolling to tow away illegally parked vehicles and enforce discipline among commercial establishments that obstruct traffic.Sathish Galley, an OMR resident said, "The meeting was announced at short notice, we raised several pending issues and did not have time to discuss the current issues. We urged measures for rainwater harvesting, speedy implementation of welfare schemes across divisions, and the need for regular field inspections."Meanwhile, residents in several areas, including Perambur, Pulianthope, Tondiarpet, Tiruvottiyur, and Anna Nagar, complained that no meetings were held or notifications issued. "The councillor of Ward 72 has conducted area sabha meetings only twice, and civic issues remain unresolved. During monsoon, only two of 13 streets in our locality remain free from waterlogging. This issue has been raised repeatedly, yet no action has been taken," said A Saravanan, a resident of VOC Nagar in Pulianthope.Chennai mayor R Priya said the meetings were conducted to discuss monsoon-related grievances, which would be addressed before the next spell of heavy rains.