CHENNAI: For quite a while now, residents of Nolambur have constantly complained about the deplorable condition of roads and of garbage remaining uncleared in the area. But not stopping with merely complaining about the state of affairs, close to a hundred residents from the VGN Minerva Housing Complex decided to march to their neighbour’s house and ask for some help. “When we read that P Benjamin had been elected Deputy-Mayor, we realised that we had a neighbour who could make a change,” said N Mathivanan, who initiated the march. It of course helped that Benjamin, the elected councillor of Nolambur, happened to live almost in the adjoining compound.“We sent a mail out asking for members to sign a petition about the amenities we needed and then, we fixed upon the idea of walking to his house and explaining our problems,” he added. On Saturday morning, out of the 572 flats in the complex, close to 80 persons landed up nice and early, ready to go meet the Deputy Mayor. They were joined by another 20 residents from another residential colony nearby and the march was underway. “When we met him (Benjamin), he was very gracious and invited us in. However, because we could not all fit into his home, we had an informal meeting outside where he promised us that he would come to our complex with officials soon,” stated the resident.Much to their surprise, though they did not expect any immediate response, Deputy Mayor Benjamin along with Corporation and Municipality officials arrived at the Complex before 11 am and asked them to explain exactly what problems they faced. The overwhelmed residents then poured out their concerns: bad approach roads for nearly three kilometres from the main road, industrial waste dumped in empty plots overnight, no public transport and no streetlights. After listening to the various issues, he ordered immediate patchwork and said that other amenities would be provided after ‘consultation with concerned officials’, said Mathivanan. “He has assured us that we will be able to see a change in one month and we are confident that he will deliver.” he added.
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