The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Two strikingly different tales of a city

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Monday, May 12, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Two strikingly different tales of a city

City Bureau

The north of the city is congested because of narrow roads, the south by the increasing number of cars

Photos: M. Vedhan and R. Shivaji Rao.

NOTICEABLE DIFFERENCE: Pollution, congested development and lack of a railway system such as the MRTS are depriving residents of north Chennai of quality life. A picture of contrast between Tondiarpet (left) and Saidapet (right). —

CHENNAI: The lines dividing north and south Chennai are not only drawn across access to quality healthcare, education or the standard of living but also physically drawn by the Railways.

“Basin Bridge, Vyasarpadi and Perambur subways are important points of entry and exit and are flooded every monsoon,” says T.S. Thyagarajan, a Mylapore resident, who runs a school at Kodungaiyur.

Equal access to quality of life can be achieved by concerted effort, political will and greater civic engagement from the residents, say long-term residents and elected representatives of the city.

The well-worn clichés about the divide are frequently quoted -- the north of the city is congested because of narrow roads, the south by the increasing number of cars. The north is often defined by the presence of industry and its workers, the south by the Information Technology boom and software professionals.

While several private and Corporation schools in the south compete to upgrade infrastructure, extra-curricular activities and academic standards, the infrastructure of many schools in north Chennai is largely poor. Lack of proper water supply and sewerage networks and streetlights under repair are frequently cited problems in various parts of the north.

The increasing affluence is less frequently quoted. Factory outlets of branded footwear and clothing, retailers of branded electronics equipment and the big retail chain stores have all set up shop in both parts of the city. For the savvy, several grey market ‘foreign’ items are available at bargain rates in the north. This part of the city is a hotbed of activity at both ends of the economic food chain – manufacturing, power, fishing, import and export are the better known activities. Tondiarpet, Basin Bridge, Pulianthope and Ayanavaram zones come under north Chennai with a total of 63 wards. Further north are the municipalities and other local bodies that are being absorbed by the metropolitan area but, nevertheless, lack access to basic facilities.

In Tiruvottiyur, for instance, a resident’s quota of water from the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) is about 10 litres, as opposed to government guidelines that set the ideal quota at 135 litres. R. Jayaraman, Chairman, Tiruvottiyur Municipality, says funds to develop facilities to distribute the requisite amount of water have been sought under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.

High pollution levels

Pollution owing to industries in several parts and burning of garbage in the Kodungaiyur dump yard, lack of public toilets, clogging of canals such as Otteri Nullah and Captain Cotton Canal are major issues that continue to haunt the residents.

Air samples from the Kodungaiyur yard taken in January 2007 and analysed by Colombia Laboratory Services in California revealed the presence of 33 noxious gases, five of which are carcinogenic.

In February 2007, an air sample taken by Community Environmental Monitoring, an NGO, after a gas leak from a company in Manali, revealed the presence of 26 Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and sulphur compounds. According to their report, benzene was found 36 times above the safe limits. On that particular day, ammonia level was 7.4 times the safe limits at 5 pm and 6.9 times above limits at 2.30 p.m.“We need 24x7 monitoring of chemical levels in the air and not just levels of suspended particulate matter and respirable suspended particulate matter, which is being done by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board. That has very little relevance living in north Chennai that has a mix of homes and industries,” says Shweta Narayan, coordinator, Community Environmental Monitoring.

Hotbed of diseases

Consequently, it is North Chennai that has been the hotbed of diseases transmitted by mosquitoes, flies or other water-borne vectors. Malaria is endemic to parts of north Chennai. In December 2007, many parts in the north reeled under diarrhoeal outbreak because of fly infestation. A few deaths were attributed to cholera too in slums in the area. In mid-June 2006, over 120 people were diagnosed as suffering from a mosquito-transmitted disease (later confirmed as chikungunya) – of which 57 were from areas in the north such as Tondiarpet, Basin Bridge and Pulianthope zones. The later cases during the same period were reported from Anna Nagar.

For some time now, doctors have been noticing an increase in the number of people being diagnosed with tuberculosis.

Pollution owing to heavy traffic movement has resulted in more people complaining of respiratory disorders. Doctors say environmental factors and occupations have contributed to more number of people suffering from asthmatic bronchitis, allergic rhinitis and sinusitis.