AUGUST 16-31, 2004.

Velachery Lake - Takeover by Metrowater Board !

The Velachery lake has now been taken over by the Chennai Metro Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB). It is official! As part of the takeover process survey of the lake has been undertaken by Metrowater Board officials.NGO's, environmentalists, and this newspaper 'Reach Velachery' have been constantly raising their voice for the protection of this lake. This latest move by Metrowater Board has brought hope to all those who have been fighting for this cause.
Reach Velachery met Mr.Ponnambalavanan, DAE, Zone X to find out the future plans for the Velachery lake.Speaking on the issue he said," At present a survey of the lake has been made. As there are many encroachments along the lake bund, it will not be easy for the Metrowater Board to take action at once. Moreover the capacity of this lake is small when compared to the 4 lakes that are also to be taken over by the Board. The lakes at Chembrampakkam, Poondi, Sholavaram and Redhills have a combined capacity of over 11,000 mc.ft. At present the Korattur-Ambattur Rettai Eri lake is being studied for feasibility and development of infrastructure facilities.
As far as Velachery lake is concerned our priority is to first protect it either by fencing or building a wall around it. Later it will be cleaned and used as storage or catchment area for water." Encroachments on the Lake
The Velachery lake was spread on an extent of 265 .48 acres. Over the years parts of this lake has been allotted for housing colonies to come up. Tamilnadu Housing Board - 53 acres, Slum Clearance Board - 24 acres, MRTS - 10 acres. As a result today the Velachery lake has shrunk to 75 acres. While land alloted by the Government cannot be reclaimed atleast the unauthorised encroachments along the lake bund should be removed.
Pollutants of the Lake
This lake was a storage area of excess rain water that flowed into it from St. Thomas Mount, Alandur, Guindy, Maduvinkarai, Raj Bhavan, IIT Campus and Velachery. But now it has become a dumping area for sewerage water from Alandur, Nanganallur, Guindy, Maduvinkarai and surrounding nagars of West Velachery along the lake bund.
This has been made possible due to the construction of storm water drains from MKN Road, Kakkan nagar, and Raj Bhavan which drain into the lake. Now instead of bringing excess rain water to the lake, these drains bring sewerage water. This has been polluting the lake.
Public Reaction
As representatives of residents, Mr.Ramasamy, Sec, West Velachery Federation of Welfare Associations says," Having fought for the past 20years for the protection of the lake, we are happy that atleast now some Govt.Dept. is taking over the lake. This would help to check further encroachments along the lake bund. Development activities like boating facilities, fisheries can also be done."
Mr.S.Kumara Raja, Sec. Federation of Velachery Welfare Associations, says," The lake is not just a water body to be protected, but it also needs to revered. Our culture has always given importance to preservation of nature. This is what has helped to balance ecology and prevent pollution in the past generations. But today we have to re-learn and follow the principles of nature and treat it with respect. In this instance we could revive the concept of 'Aadi Perukku'. On this day lamps are lighted and floated on water. This would help to bring an awarness among the public for the need to respect and protect water bodies such as the Velachery lake and the Dhandeeswarar Temple Tank."

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Onyx - Tied Down !

Garbage disposal service in Velachery by Onyx is fast deteriorating. Broken bins and overflowing bins have become a common sight. Residents from various nagars complain that garbage is not collected by Onyx daily. Sometimes it takes two to three days for the garbage to be collected. A recurring problem appears near vegetable markets on Velachery - Tambaram main road. There are fish stalls also on this road. As there are no huge waste bins in this area, shopkeepers tend to dump vegetable and fish, meat waste in waste bins at Vijayanagar 5th main road. The waste bin at Vijayanagar 8th main road is always overflowing with vegetable waste from the nearby vegetable Market. Complaints to the Onyx office at Div. 153 have so far not resulted in any measures taken to prevent such misuse. When fish waste is dumped, the whole area around Vijayanagar 5th main road stinks.!
Regarding broken bins , Onyx sources stated that these bins were manufactured in Singapore and shipped to India once in 6 months. When a shipment arrives, officials from other zones where Onyx operates take away these new bins. So these are none left for Velachery. Obviously there seems to be an absence of co-ordinated distribution for replacement of broken bins. Onyx workers have the habit banging the lids of the mobile waste bin. Previously they rang a small bell to announce their presence. Now its just bang! bang!. Maintenance of vehicles seems to be nil. The indifference by Onyx towards providing efficient service is now being felt by residents of Velachery. Ropes may hold the waste bin together, but it is not enough to hold the disintegrating service of Onyx.

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Garbage Segregation underway in Guindy!

Guindy area has now implemented a much needed management of garbage. The Chennai Corporation, Div.141, undertook a door to door capaign two months back. The campaign was kick started by MrJ.Venuggopal, AC, Chennai Corporation, Zone 9. Mr.C.Kalyanasundaram, AEE, Mr.Murali, AE, and staff went on a street to street campaign starting from Vandikaran st,to 5 Furlong road. Residents were asked to segregate garbage as decompostable and as plastics. The decompostable waste like vegetable and paper are now being dumped in the compost pits built in the burial ground on Velachery main road. Mr.Murali said that after two months of intense campaign it has started to pay off.Residents now segregate garbage at their doorstep before duping them. Corporation workers have also been trained to carry garbage in segregated forms. Residents of Guindy have set an example for others to follow. Will we learn from them?

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Ask the Doctor - Fractures in the elderly

Large number of senior citizens are at risk of developing fractures after trivial falls. Some tips regarding causes and preventive measures. Causes- Osteoporosis is the leading cause of fractures in the elderly. This is a silent disease like diabetes and hypertension affecting the long bones causing a depletion of bone and loss of strength. Areas of the skeleton frequently affected are the vertebrae, hips, wrists, and bones around the knee.
Poor musculature, reflexes and neuro-muscular coordination make the elderly susceptible to falls at home. Osteoarthritis of the hips and knees can cause sharp twinges of pain and this can lead to instability and falls.Improper lighting, cluttered furniture, and lack of supports within the household environment can lead to tripping at night and fractures.
People at risk
Post menopausal women (type I osteoporosis) Elderly men and women beyond 70 years( type II osteoporosis) Sedentary life style and lack of exercise Poor intake of minerals like calcium, potassium, magnesium and Vitamins.
Preventive measures
Adequate intake of low fat dairy products results in weight loss and supplies wholesome amounts of calcium, and milk proteins. Eating plenty of vegetables and fruits supplies nutrients like Potassium and magnesium. Regular exercise like a half an hour walk maintains bone mass or prevents gross depletion. Provision of rails along the stairway, removal of obstacles on the floor en route to the toilet, low lighting at night, keeping spectacles within reach are some measures to add to the comfort at home.
Treatment
Bed rest and traction are methods of the past involving heavy nursing care for hygiene, cause decrease in the cardio respiratory function, renal calculi, and bedsores.
Operative treatment allows early ambulation and return to normal activities without imposing stress on family members. Operative treatment is safe and can be done under local, regional and spinal anesthesia. Hospitalization is brief. Invasive methods are used to fix these fractures in poor quality bone. The level of comfort is higher as the wounds are smaller and take less time to heal.
For further consultations contact: Dr. A.K.Venkatachalam,
MS (Orth), DNB Orth, FRCS, MCh Orth, Consultant Orthopedic Surgeon, Tel: 2259 0422 (Clinic), 928216 5002 (Cell)

One Day Workshop

The MNM Jain Engineering College, Thorapakkam held a one day workshop on ' Stochastic Models and Reliability' on Aug.13th. This workshop was organised by the staff and students of Maths and Student Affairs Dept. Dr. V.Thangaraj, Ramanujam Institute for Advanced study in Mathematics, Madras University, inaugurated the workshop and delivered a lecture. Mr. M. Lalchand Munoth, Chr., Mr. Harish. L. Mehta, Sec & Corr. and Dr. V.K.R. Jayasingh, Principal, and faculty members were present on the occasion. At the conclusion of the workshop, certificates were distributed to all student participants.

General Body Meeting

The Dhandeeswaram Welfare Association will hold its annual general body meeting on Aug.29th, 4.00p.m., at its office on Dhandeeswaram 3rd main road. Members to the executive committee are to e elected, so the Secretary has requested all residents of Dhandeeswaram nagar to attend this meeting without fail.

Winners all the Way!

In the recently concluded Bi-Annual sports meet conducted by the Federation of Velachery Welfare Associations around 850 people participated of which 102 were declared winners of various competitions. There were 50 teams for shuttle cock competition and 38 participants for chess competition. Running race, Ladies and Senior citizens walking race, rangoli,frog race, and carroms competitions saw enthusiastic participation of people from all over Velachery.

Celebrations !

Bharathi Vidyalaya Sr.Sec. School, Perumbakkam celebrated its annual day on Aug.14. Dr. M.S. Ananth, Dir, IIT was the chief guest. He also distributed prizes to students. Mr. R.Krishnaswamy,Chr. welcomed the gathering and Mrs. K. Alamelu, Corr. & Sec. presented a report about the school. Mrs. Sunitha Rao, Principal spoke about the school's various activities. Students presented variety entertainment. Mrs. Pavana Sreedhar gave the vote of thanks.

AUGUST 16-31, 2004.

High Rise Buildings - Bane or Boon? To Velachery!

Velachery is the happening place of Chennai city. It is the real estater's paradise. Once a sleepy village, today the fast pace of development has changed the contour of the land. MRTS project, 6-lane and 4-lane roadways, sewerage and drinking water pipe networks, center for IT industry and software companies and a growing horizon of high rise buildings! Velachery was known as flooded area during the 70's to 90's, but today it has been turned into a desert. Ground water has reached nil condition. Most of the high rise buildings in Velachery have sunk 300ft to 400ft deep borewells, which are almost dry now. These deep borewells have eaten into the ground water reserves at 150ft depth resulting in individual houses and smaller flat complexes losing out on water. Today the majority of Velachery residents buy water through tankers. Though last year monsoons failed to turn up in the city, previous years drought conditions did not result in such desert like conditions in Velachery. (left: Software building on Velachery main road)
The 150ft byepass road means no super structures as it would result in increased population and traffic. This the CMDA knew, but how the real estate builders obtained permission is a well known public secret. Today there are around 8 such high rise buildings housing from 188 flats to 450 flats! Similarly on the Taramani 100ft link road there are 7 flat complexes housing 100 to 200 flats. On the Velachery main road from Gandhi salai junction to the Velachery station there are 12 high rise buildings housing 120 to 680 flats! Apart from these there (right: Apartment building on 100ft. Bye Pass road)are also multi-storeyed software buildings on the Velachery main road. Taking into account the present number of such multi-storeyed buildings there are now an average of 5000 flats or individual houses. Similarly there are 4 and 2 storeyed buildings in almost all nagars of Velachery. Individual houses are now being demolished to make way for flat complexes! Where one family lived, now a minimum of 6 families live. A population that was spread over a nagar has now been compressed into a small area through the development of high rise buildings. Such unrestrained growth has resulted not only in depletion of ground water but now faces frequent power break downs, power flucuations,and traffic jams.
Everyday traffic jams occur during peak hours at Vijayanagar junction. Formerly traffic flow from Ramnagar and other inner areas had 5 entry points into Velachery main road. An average of 1200 houses have minimal traffic flow when compared to the blockage caused by the increase of traffic flow from the 680 flats multi-storeyed building and the frequent traffic flow from the software company on Velachery main road. With the 4lane project underway on the main road what is now required is service lanes on both sides of the road. Will the State Highways department act and remove encroachments along this road to make way for a proper 4 lane road? A CMDA rule states that service lanes should be provided for approval of residential layouts adjoining such 4 or 6 lane roadways. Service lanes are being provided on the 150ft byepass road, but such lanes need to be provided on the Taramani 100ft link road also.(left: Apartment building on 100ft. Bye Pass road)
In 1995 laying of sewerage lines in Velachery was started. Then the population was around one lakh. Today the population has risen to more than three lakhs. New residential layouts have been developed over the years and new streets have been laid since. There are 8 Metrowater pumping stations in Velachery whose capacity to pump untreated sewerage water to Perungudi Pumping station is going beyond its originally designed capacity. This has now resulted in frequent sewer pipe line bursts and flooding of main roads.
Though Velachery has developed by leaps and bounds, the time has now come for the residents and concerned authorities to act and put stop to such unrestrained growth. Unlike Mumbai which has grown vertically due to lack of space, Chennai has vast lands for horizontal development. Any place needs to grow, but not at the cost of environment. What we leave behind for our future generations lies in our hands.

report & photos: b.vimala

Sports meet Inaugurated!

The Bi-Annual sports Meet organised by the Federation of Velachery Welfare Associations was inaugurated by Mr.Mahesh Aggarwal, I.P.S., Dy.Comm. of Police, South Chennai City Traffic Police on July 31st. The sports meet was held at Rajalakshmi Mat.Hr.Sec.School, Dhandeeswaram nagar, Velachery. Lighting of the Kuthuvilakku by the chief guest and other dignitaries on the stage marked the inauguration of the competitions. (right: Lighting of Kuthuvillaku by Mr. Mahesh Aggarwal, I.P.S., Dy.Comm. of Police.)

In this function 30 auto drivers of Velachery were presented individual personal accident insurance policy from United India Insurance (left: Attendent dignitaries with auto drivers and Velachery Traffic Police Personnel.) Co.Ltd by the chief guest. Speaking on ;the occasion Mr.Mahesh Aggarwal appreciated the Federation's efforts in looking at long term relationship between the auto drivers and the public. He also said that welfare associations were powerful bodies who could make any Govt.dept. work for the benefit of the public. While presenting the policies to the auto drivers he also gave a word of advice to them. He said that auto drivers should reciprocate the thoughtful gesture of the Federation by being helpful to the local people and also drive carefully. The policy issued to the auto drivers is the first of its kind. Rs. 1 Lakh insurance is offered in case of death due to accident. For injuries and medical treatment compensation is also offered. Further 20 auto drivers registered their names for this insurance policy. This policy is being sponsored jointly by the Federation of Velachery Welfare Associations and the CCTP, Velachery. Mr.Kalyansundaram, Corr.Rajalakshmi M.H.S.School, Dr.Sundaravadanam, Div.Mgr., UI Insurance, Mr.C.R.Rajan, Metrowater Board, Mr.Ramachandran, Chennai Corporation, Mr.Ln.G.Sundaram, Pres., Mr. Govindaraj, V. Pres. and Mr.S.Kumararaja,Sec., of the Federation and members of the Federation, sports meet participants and members of Annai Ladies Club graced the occasion.

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Storm water Drains pollute Velachery Lake!

The storm water drains department of Ripon Buildings is now rebuilding old storm water drains and also building new ones in West Velachery. Similarly work has started on the construction of such drains on the Ramnagar 6th main road. Chennai Coproration officials stated that storm water drains network is to be laid on all roads in Ramnagar, Vijayanagar, Srinivasa nagar, and other surrounding areas for easy draining of rain water.
In West Velachery the drains start from MKN road, Medavakkam road and pass through Kakkan nagar, Dr.Ambedkar nagar to reach the Velachery lake. These drains instead of bringing rain water into the lake now bring untreated sewerage water from Alandur Muncipality, Guindy, Nanganallur, Ullagaram and surrounding areas into the lake. Though officials claim that the drains are meant for rain water only, one can see untreated sewerage water flow into sections which have just been constructed. Workers were also manually clearing sewerage water from old drains to enable their widening works. As sewerage lines have been laid in this area efforts must be taken to stop the pollution of the lake. Will the authorities act?

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Blood Donation

Lions Club of Velachery organised a series of blood donation camps invarious places. On July 24th, 202 units of blood was donated by students of Prince Shree Venkateshwara College, Gowriwakkam. On July 25th, 75 units of blood was donated by the public at a camp held at CSI Church, Surgeons of India Hall.
Blood donation camp is to be held on Aug.3rd at Jerusalem College of Engineering, Pallikaranai, and on Aug.7th at Prof.Dhanabalan College for Women, Kelampakkam.
Lion G.Sundaram explained the benefits of such camps. According to him ,"Unlike private blood banks which sell blood by the unit, the Lions Club provides 75% of the city's requirements free to hospitals. This service has saved many lives and has been a life saver to those who cannot afford to buy blood. The Lions Club generally segregates the components of the blood like plasma, red and white blood corposules, etc. for longer storage period and easy distribution.Our aim is to make youngsters come forward and participate in this noble service."

Blood Donation

On July 25th a blood donation camp was organized by the Federation of West Velachery Welfare Associations, Consumer Council of India, and KMC Blood Bank. The camp held at Unity School, Mahalakshmi nagar was inaugurataed by Mr.Varadrajan, Corr. DAV School, Adambakkam. 75 units of blood was donated by the participating public in the camp.

Parks Revamped!

The Chennai Corporation, Div.153, has been revamping public parks on main roads in Velachery. New play equipments and landscaping have given an improved look to the Thiruvalluvar park on Gandhi Salai. Similarly Bharatiyar park on Velachery main road is now being given the works. For parks in the nagars the Chennai Corporation hopes the concerned welfare associations would come forward to take up the maintenance responsibility. Officials feel this would help to protect them from encroachments. Already Baby Nagar welfare association and Ramnagar welfare association have taken up the maintenance of parks in their areas. It is upto other associations to follow suit.

Condolence meet

On July 19th Moksha Deepam was lighted by the students of the G.K Shetty Hindu Vidyalaya School, Adambakkam in memory of the children who lost their lives in the Kumbakonam fire accident. Principal, Staff and parents joined together in a 2-minute silence for the departed souls to rest in peace.

Head on Collision – Tragic Death!

On July 27th, a tragic accident occurred on Taramani 100ft Link road, opposite Nandini Hospital. A newly married couple on a motorbike turned from the service lane onto Taramani road. They collided head on with another motorbike coming from the opposite direction. This collusion caused a pile up of bodies and bikes around 8.30 p.m. just after the rush hour. Though no one was hurt badly, there was a tragic loss of life. Mr.Mohan, resident of Tansi nagar who had been married only last year passed away in this accident. The cause of his death is attributed to a head injury caused by the fall from his bike. His wife escaped with slight injuries. Police sources said that had the motorist worn a helmet, the loss of life could have been prevented. Further investigations are on by the Police Department.

Gifts Galore!

Velachery now has a swanky 3000 sq.ft showroom for gift articles. Srishti – The Creative Store was opened in April ’04, by Cine Critic Mr.Madan and also received well wishes from Mr.S.Muthiah, Editor, Madras Musings,and noted Chennai Historian. This spacious showroom has tastefully arranged gift articles, toys, games. Book racks offer a wide range of fiction, educational, and general books. The kids section is well worth looking into. It has colourful illustrated, easy to read books for youngsters. A sure hit with mothers and those who wish to buy worthwhile birthday presents! For teenagers there are Archies posters, gifts, stationery, and CD’s. Mr.Dhanasekar, partner, Srishti says, “Our future plans include an ice cream parlour so that customers can enjoy a cool browsing session here. We want our customers to make 100% satisfying purchases.”
Srishti is on the 150ft Byepass road and is open from 9.30a.m to 10.00 p.m. For further details contact, Ph: 5215 4259 / 4359.