Residents of Adyar, Thiruvanmiyur, and Velachery in South Chennai had the opportunity to voice their concerns and grievances to Mayor R Priya during the ‘meet your mayor’ event. More than 303 residents attended the event, bringing forward various complaints regarding issues such as bad roads, damaged pavements, dirty beaches, illegal parking, and telephone poles.
During the event, the mayor received petitions from residents, members of resident welfare associations, senior citizens, and people with disabilities. Charu Govindhan from Thiruvanmiyur expressed her disappointment over the lack of area sabha meetings across the city. She urged the mayor to take action against those councillors who haven’t held the meetings and also highlighted the absence of means for the public to track area sabha updates. The mayor assured Charu that most councillors would start holding the meets by August.
Some residents suggested that the mayor should prioritize larger issues, such as stormwater drains or roads, and filter out minor complaints like name corrections in certificates. Geetha Ganesh from Velachery AGS residents welfare association found the meeting to be chaotic, criticizing the absence of a token number system and poor crowd management.
Geetha Padmanadhan from Adyar zone raised concerns about damaged pavements on Radhakrishnan Main Road due to the random placement of telecom poles by telecom staffers at night. She requested the mayor to provide the permission letter given by the corporation for such activities.
To address these grievances, the city corporation set up more than 20 booths at the regional deputy commissioner’s office. Mayor Priya assured the residents that the received grievances would be fast-tracked and forwarded to the concerned departments for necessary action.
The ‘meet your mayor’ event provided an opportunity for residents to engage with the mayor directly and voice their concerns about various issues affecting their neighborhoods. It also highlighted the need for better infrastructure management and citizen participation in decision-making processes. By addressing these concerns, it is hoped that the quality of life in these areas will improve, making them more livable for all residents.
Overall, the ‘meet your mayor’ event was an important step toward strengthening the bond between citizens and their local government. It is crucial for such dialogues to continue, allowing residents to actively participate in shaping the future of their communities.
