Mylapore MLA Dha. Velu has three big issues on his table that he says he is focussed on. Resolving the redevelopment of run-down tenements along the Marina in the kuppams zone, sprucing up all the temples in the area and developing the Chennai Corporation’s school in Bheemanapet, the only higher secondary school in this zone.
He says that even as the state rolls out its redevelopment work of residential blocks in the kuppams – from Doomingkuppam to Srinivasapuram off the Marina, these plans are being challenged by residents.
“While the Slum Board plans to erect huge, multi-storeyed blocks so as to accommodate not only those who reside in the tenements but those who live on encroached patches in the kuppams, people say living in 10 and 12-storeyed blocks pose big problems for access,” says the MLA. “So we are working out a compromise in the plans.”
As far as maintenance of Mylapore temples goes, he says some of them need attention and also a dedicated maintenance team for their upkeep. “I am talking to the HR&CE minister on these plans,” says Velu.
And he is particular about making the Chennai School in Alwarpet a lively, model school – the strength here has fallen badly and though the campus is large and accommodation is sufficient, many upkeep and revival issues remain. “We must do all we can to draw people to admit their kids here and we must then provide all that is required for teaching and extra-curricular activities,” says the MLA.
- File photo of flats under construction in Doomingkuppam
