Coimbatore : While Coimbatore enjoys the status of being among the fastest growing cities in India, Karumbukkadai with two wards under two different assembly constituencies, Singanallur and Thondamuthur lacks many of the basic civic amenities which other parts of the city have been provided with.
Coimbatore : While Coimbatore enjoys the status of being among the fastest growing cities in India, Karumbukkadai with two wards under two different assembly constituencies, Singanallur and Thondamuthur lacks many of the basic civic amenities which other parts of the city have been provided with.
Residents of Karumbukkadai face umpteen issues, the latest woe being the Siruvani water pipeline leaking for the past two months, due to which drinking water supply has been affected. In spite of repeated complaints, the Corporation has apparently not budged. "Karumbukkadai has the thickest population among the 100 wards under Corporation limit. But as far as facilities are concerned, we are denied even the basic amenities.
We do not have even a primary health centre. We are always asked to go to the Government Hospital because it is closer for us. But now with the ongoing flyover work, we do not have buses plying through Karumbukadai.
It is really difficult for us to reach the city," laments Abdul Hakkim, a resident who is a Swach Bharath Ambassador. "There is no bank in the vicinity of Karumbukadai in spite of it having a population of 50,000.
We have proposed to many banks to open up a branch and we are ready to give them place on the main road, but none of the banks are ready. Our people have to go to Kuniamuthur or Podanur every time," adds Hakkim.
"Since the major cause behind our woes is that Karumbukkadai has two wards, one under Singanallur and the other under Thondamuthur Constituency, we spoke to N Karthik, the Singanallur MLA who blames it on Minister S P Velumani who is allegedly not releasing funds because it comes under a different constituency.
On the other hand, even the Minister who does so much for his constituency in Kuniamuthur and other areas does not show interest in our locality just because one ward comes under Singanallur. We are caught in between and do not get any facility which other wards enjoy," says Peer Muhammed, another resident.
The other major issues include lack of playgrounds or park facilities for children. "We have three schools and nearly 5000 students attend these schools. But we do not have any park or playground for our children. There is enough space in Pullukadu inside Karumbukkadai, but none of the authorities are showing interest.
Roads are in a bad shape in the locality and with the flyover work on, to take a shortcut from Ukkadam people ply through Karumbukkadai accounting for heavy traffic, thus making it more miserable for the residents. We have approached every one possible. But there is no result. Maybe because it is a minority-occupied locality, nobody is interested in our welfare.
Our people wanted to protest in a big way by blocking the Ukkadam road which can have a huge impact. We are trying to pacify them but if the authorities do not take quick action on these issues, we cannot stop the residents from carrying out a massive protest," concludes Hakkim.
The new Corporation Commissioner, J Shravan Kumar, when briefed on the plight of the Karumbukkadai residents assured that the issues would be looked into and necessary action taken.