Chennai's IT Highway on Old Mahabalipuram Road!(Photo: Thanks to Wikipedia)
When we shifted to our house on the side road of the OMR (it is called Old Mahabalipuram Road or Rajiv Gandhi Salai), both sides of the road were looking like the normal 'outskirt of the city' area...with some factories with vacant spots in-between and water stagnating in many places.
Then, the OMR IT corridor came and we are very very happy about it. The Tidel Park came first. Now, the beautiful area is slowly becoming dirty and looks neglected because of the general public and carelessness of the IT companies which are situated on the roads. We come to this road for our morning walks because of the clean roads with lots of trees on both sides of the service lane, where we walk with many others. Here are some pictures of the places which look very dirty...
Then, the OMR IT corridor came and we are very very happy about it. The Tidel Park came first. Now, the beautiful area is slowly becoming dirty and looks neglected because of the general public and carelessness of the IT companies which are situated on the roads. We come to this road for our morning walks because of the clean roads with lots of trees on both sides of the service lane, where we walk with many others. Here are some pictures of the places which look very dirty...
The above picture shows the area just outside the Tidel Park gate. This place looks dirty all the time with garbage and urine. This is the urinal for the Security people of the Tidel Park. I wonder why the Company has not provided a toilet for the Security people, near the gate, inside their compound. We have to close our nose when we cross this area.
There is a modern art at the background of this dirty area...but this was a clean area long back. This too is near the Tidel park gate.
This area comes next to the Tidel park. Earlier M.G.R. Film city (Jayalalitha Film city - she changed the name when she was the CM!) was situated here. Now, TATA is building Ramanujan IT Park with 3/4 bedroom residential area too! This area was full of trees, now, all of them are gone. The lorries use this service lane to take the debri from this site and so broken road (this is not a tar or concrete road but is laid with paver blocks) is horrible to walk now. The Govt. Polytechnic college and some other colleges are situated on this road and still looks green inside their compounds. The Rajbhavan is situated nearby and we have seen some deers near the gates of the college. The South Chennai area is supposed to be a cooler area and so is a posh area, but for how long?
This is a bus stop on the OMR road, near the VHS hospital. Look at the seat here...
and here...this is the next seat without any slab on top of the seat. The slab must have been stolen!
The Bus stop number board is covered with advt. notices!
This is also a modern art on the service lane...some more art can be seen here, on this road! The compound wall had small small lights, throughout the service lane, when it was new. Everything was broken and the bulbs stolen! The flowers on the sides of the roads are plucked by the public, even flower buds are not left on the plants!
This road looks so beautiful from here. But the service lane is in a very bad shape, thanks to the irresponsible people and the huge companies, who are using this lane. When will the attitude of our people change?
29 comments :
woww..y u dint apply for a reporter's job???
well with success come a lot of bad things tooo.. and this is so visible from the pictures you have put up...
we have more roads but we still have the dirt.. if only we spend more time in cleaning and money.. then maybe we wont need the roads :)
People in India have a very low sense of hygiene and cleanliness. Specially the poorer section of the society. And it is the duty of the companies to provide clean toilets and garbage bins. And also to hold periodic talks with the people providing services how to keep the are clean. It only requires a shift in the mindset to change the way things are currently.
An excellent post Sandhya as usual. I hope someone notices this one.
Ramesh: Shall I do?!
Bikram: I feel the IT companies should take the responsibility of keeping the nearby area, even if it is outside their compound, clean. First, they should provide toilets for their own staff and SEE to it that they use it too in some way! What to do, our people are used to spraying outside without hygiene or shame!
Aparna: You said it right, Aparna...no one bothers about hygiene, in India. I have seen people get down from their cars and urinate on the road, no, they are not drivers, but owners, here, in our country.
Somebody, like Shulabh, take the responsibility of building more pay toilets, for the public. While travelling long distance by car, it is very difficult for the women, esp. The toll gate toilets too are not maintained by the concerned people or the general public.
Thank you, Aparna! I admire you for your writings.
Very interesting post. I have been saying this for a long time. Just like USA, all gas stations (petrol bunks) must be mandated to have toilets for the public and they should maintain it properly.
Brilliant post maami!
This is exactly why we Indians are not really respected abroad. And this is also probably why the govt. is indifferent about investing in infrstructure. Its attitude.. "Why bother.. anyway it will either be stolen or broken!"
Only solution: Severe, brutal punishment.
It has become a habit of people to throw the garbage wherever they want and urinate in any place.. :(
Its pathetic that such wonderfully constructed roads are going for waste :(
Only the severe punishment and fines can solve this situation..
SG: Some petrol bunks and all toll gates have got toilets now, but very rarely we come across clean toilets, SG. People should change. They think that it is enough to keep their houses clean, all other areas can be used like toilets! They don't bother about running water too, that is the main draw back with our people. Who can teach them? You go to any school here, their toilets stink. Where will the children learn hygiene?
Ashwini: Yes, Ashwini, we noticed the beautiful small lamps on the service lane compound wall stolen within months of their installation. They looked beautiful like diyas on the wall at 5 in the morning, with slight darkness.
The vote bank will not let any govt. to take severe action, Ashwini.
Kanagu: You can notice garbage near the bins more than inside the bin in most places, Kanagu.
We used to admire that road a lot but now the service lane has got many pot holes and we have to keep an eye while walking, thanks to the rubbish carrying lorries using these lanes. Now they have put barricades so that heavy vehicles do not use the roads. No one has got conscience here. That is the main problem. 'avankadakkaan' attitude.
Nice report on the IT highway :-) Property prices are soaring there, isn't it? And to think that we cannot maintain even a garbage bin properly.. unfortunately, this just reflects on our attitudes and civic sense as a community!!
The problem with us is that we are always in hurry and care about no one but ourselves.We lack civics sense .Once we had a neighbor who used to dump her kid's soiled diapers right at our house ...she use to live in first floor of her building and never bothered to use a dustbin,it was easier fr her to throw away that right from her bedroom window.And she used to be a teacher of a very reputed school.
Your area is very beautiful.I hope the concerned authorities and locality people realize this very soon.I felt real sorry to see the stolen seat-slab.
Sandhya,i just read the concluding part of this beautiful bird story in one of the blog i follow.The post reminded me of your posts on birds.Thought you might like to have a look(if you've got time,i am sure you are going to love it).here is the url (http://joezachs.blogspot.com/2010/09/and-we-flew-away.html).Please check the previous post named choti chidiya too.
I hope you don't mind.
Thats the cons of progress, why cant we grow with cleanliness?....actuallu cleanliness doesnt come to us naturally, it has to be enforced.
Sad state of affairs. And it's only getting 'progressively worse'! There should be a change from the grassroot level. Our education and upbringing should instill this attitude of cleanliness and hygiene.
True Sandhya, the whole stretch looks so beautiful when we enter the road. But the service lanes are so badly maintained. People here have no road sense and no consideration for other humans; everything is a short cut here ! Building an awareness among people here have become of no use; we dont want to learn !
Great post, Sandhya! You have noticed the change and documented it very well!
It is a similar story in many Indian cities, I'm afraid. Even the newly developed areas become dirty very quickly!
I like your idea that the IT companies should take the responsibility of keeping their surrounding areas clean. I think they can well afford it...
writerzblock: Yes, land prices have gone up skyhigh! We don't see even a single garbage bin on the service lane! People sit on the pavements because it is laid like a smooth floor and enjoy with eatables and throw the plastic cups and wrappers around! We have seen film shootings on the road or near the bus stops when we go for our walks...they make the whole road a garbage bin! Nobody is bothered.
Kavita: yes, civic sense is zero for our people.
When a teacher behaves like that, we cannot expect her children to care about others, Kavita!
I took the camera with me one day morning and took the photos. We had been going there for the past 2 years or something...it used to be so beautiful.
Thanks for the bulbul bird post link. The pictures and the narration with humour included, was very very interesting. Have commented there, Kavita!
Renu: Sometimes I feel that the authorities should fine at least the people who are filming in the area, if they don't clean the place before they leave.
RGB: Education?! Please read Kavita's comment! Some sort of punishment is the only way, I feel.
vimmuuu: There is no hope for a clean Chennai, here, vimmuuu!
Manju: The first people to use the corners in the compound wall nearby and trees(!) for urinating are the Security people of Tidel Park, with their uniforms! The higher-ups enter the company in their cars and they don't bother to check how the place...just a few feet away from their arch looks like. The stench is unbearable. I get vomiting sensation, when I cross the area. The Security guard watches me when if make the puking sound without batting an eye!
This place looks like this for more than a year now...full of dirt and urine.
Sandhya, the first thing I noticed when I went abroad was the cleanliness. There was no garbage lying around anywhere. It really strikes you.
When I mentioned this ot a number of friends, I got varied reactions. One said 'they' too have areas where garbage piles up. Yes I agreed, they might. But isn't also a fact that a I found areas with absolutely cleanliness?? I told the person, right show me one single place in our country where you will find not even a shred of paper flying around. Is there such a place?? I don't think so. It only comes from the people of the city taking pride in keeping it clean.
Another person told me its because India is a 'poor' country. So what?? Where does it say poor people cannot be neat?? In fact my servant maid keeps her house sparkling clean. The problem is lack of civic sense. Of course amenities are also less. But are the amenities wherever available being utilized?? The answer is a sad NO. I know people (rich) who'd rather throw the garbage outside rather than pay the waste collector a measly forty rupees a month!!
And less said about the 'urinating by the roadside' culture of ours.
Shail: When I first visited the UK, I noticed my relatives going into the kitchen after they got ready to out with us, with their shoes on...I didn't like it...(older woman attitude!)! Then after I started going out, I noticed the clean roads which had no plastic, or paper or even dry leaves on the sides of the roads too! The shoes were clean always! Even I started moving around the house with my shoes on, after seeing the cleanliness everywhere.
But in the US, I noticed people throwing the cigarette butts on the floor, wherever they were, men and women! Still, if you turn around to look here and there, the places were clean. I found garbage bins every 2 mtrs. and the garbage thrown 'into' the bin! I don't find even a single bin in the 2 Km stretch we walk everyday.
Nowadays, visiting the US and other European countries has become so common, but the same people don't try to follow the rules they follow over there, Shail.
:) Hi dear... After a long time..
Your post reminded me of the recent Aamir Khan ad on Incredible India,that we need our country clean..
One thing i liked the most about your post is that,instead of pointing fingers at the security for urinating there,you have rightly said about the real reason,that they have no other choice,bcoz company hasn't provided them any..
Take care
((hugs))
nimis540: Whatever he does, Aamir does sincerely!
That is the truth, isn't it, Nimmy? Where will they go? They are sitting in the open space the whole night on a small stool half asleep. Poor boys. Many of them are from North India!
This is so so disappointing, Sandhya! We make such tall claims about our country's advancement, but of what use is such advancement if we cant keep our country clean and worthy of such advancement??
You know the first thought that crossed my mind the minute I entered the newly opened amazingly beautiful Delhi airport last month was whether we will be able to maintain it as well!
Hmm I hope it changes soon too.
It's really sad to see our resources in bad shape :( U must send these pics to some media Sandhya!
The worst thing is that the company has not provided a toilet! Sheesh!
People don't have civic sense.Abroad who have throw litter on the roads are fined.If we do that here,new corruption will come up,police will be happy if we start taking fines from the people,he will get his share of bribe.
Our cities are going from bad to worse. I remember seeing 50 year old pictures of beach road and Radhakrishnan salai. Zameen aasmaan ka farak hai.
Btw, if you're located near OMR, that means you're not far from where I live!! (Guindy-Velachery)
I agree with you. We also live in a small lane off the main road. It is a dead end and so was very peaceful till Westside came up on the other side, and all their folks now use the road for the same purpose as the security guards you mention in your post. They also throw all empty cartons, packing material in a vacant plot adjacent to their store. I have tried writing to them, but get no reply. The store trains their staff in customer service, maybe instiling a little bit of civic sense would help.
Deepu: Yes, everyone says so about the Delhi Airport!
Swaram: Yes, if they had provided toilet near the gate, they would not use the tree trunks or corners to urinate, Swaram!
Varunavi: You said it right, Saritha, new option for corruption will start!
Deepa: Yes, I live at Perungudi!
Do you read the supplement in Hindu about our old Madras? Very interesting!
Radha: I doubt it will work here, Radha!
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