I have been living in Adambakkam for more than forty years. Every day, I would walk for half an hour to go to school, crossing the fields and vacant lands, in which children would be playing. The land was so bleak and devoid of buildings that from my house, one could see the Velachery Main Road. There were no police stations. To report petty and criminal cases, one had to go to Alandur.
The various aspects of life were defined by covering a distance by foot. Payment of electricity bills entailed a distance of 3 km. Visiting a market, 2 km. Going to school, one km. Going to the railway station, one km. Many other basic amenities could be accessed after a walk of at least half a kilometre.
At that time there was no water scarcity and well water was available at a depth of 18-20 feet, making it difficult to construct a basement floor in buildings. But now, the streets named after rivers are barren without water. It can be fetched only after digging more than 300 feet. Earlier, in Adambakkam, there were only individual houses, however, now the area is marked by apartments.
The employees of State/Central governments purchased land for just Rs.5,000 and they built their houses with official loans. As it was merely agricultural land, we did not receive any extra benefits and so we started a ‘nala sangam’ to solve our civic problems.
Bharath Nagar Nala Sangam was formed with just sixteen members on July 16, 1978 by (late) V. Ponnuchamy. The name ‘Bharath Nagar’ was chosen because, the residents in the area were from all parts of the country — Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Puducherry and various districts of Tamil Nadu. We named our streets after rivers. To name some, Cauvery street, Krishna street, Vaigai street, Amaravathi street, Ganga street, Yamuna street, Godhavari street, Bhavani street and Narmada street.
The association has 13 streets under its control. There was a time when a spate of thefts occurred, all of them at night. To put an end to that, we ensured residents’ safety by having street lights installed. Also, youngsters in the area would go on night patrolling.
They have nabbed anti-social elements several times. This neighbourhood initiative caught the eyes of the outside world and soon a police station was established in the area.
In the early days, the association meetings would be conducted at the houses of its members. Later, a separate building was built for the members of the association: to hold meetings, conduct yoga classes and for various other welfare activities. We have also started a library with the support of the residents. Inspectors from several police stations have been invited to guide us on measures to prevent thefts and on how to organise night patrolling.
Several developments have taken place. We would like to see a few more started. The work on laying of stormwater drains has not started yet. Though several electric street lights posts are installed, only half of them glow. This makes it risky for women and children to venture out at night.
The association has taken efforts to de-silt and deepen Adambakkam lake and to lay boundaries to stop encroachments.
P. Moorthy
Secretary,
Bharath Nagar Nala Sangam,
Adambakkam
