North Zone, one of the five administrative units in the Coimbatore Corporation, has 20 wards spread over Thudiyalur, Vellakinaru, Chinna Vedampatti, Saravanampatti, Vilankurichi, Peelamedu, Gandhi Managar, Ganapathy, Maniakarampalayam and Nallampalayam.
A good number of the wards are areas that were until 10 years ago outside the city limits.
In 2011, the Corporation annexed the areas of the then Thudiyalur, Chinna Vedampatti, Saravanampatti and Vilankurichi town panchayats and panchayats.
At the time of annexure, the then State government and Corporation told the residents that their basic amenities and delivery of services would improve. But very little of promises made was delivered, the residents say and the contestants allege in their campaign in the urban local bodies elections, the second since the annexure.
The delivery of services was a far cry from what was promised and had taken place in the last 10 years, complained resident V. Sathish Balaji.
Every time the Corporation announced a scheme, it either implemented it only in a few pockets of the old city like Race Course, R.S. Puram or Saibaba Colony or began works there. And, every time the Corporation allocated resources like bins or push carts, those areas were the favoured ones.
The added areas needed improvement and for them to become on a par with the old city, the Corporation should allocate more resources, he said.
In Thudiyalur and Saravanampatti junctions, traffic management was as an important issue to be addressed, said P. Palanisamy, a DMK contestant from Saravanampatti. Though the Corporation was not directly concerned with regulating traffic, it could and should address the issue by developing scheme roads to provide more alternatives for road users from the area to go south.
Activist and Chinna Vedampatti resident S. Sivaraja said the Corporation that had developed a few tanks in the Central and South zones had done very little for protecting the Chinna Vedampatti tank. Spread over 200 acres, it was an important source for the area which, if developed, would solve groundwater problem.
The contestants in fray in the 20 wards in the Zone should promise rainwater harvesting structures in public places, for the clay soil in the region prevented easy percolation of rainwater and that led to inundation in several places.
Residents in Thudiyalur said the Corporation should develop the bus terminus in the area to prevent traffic congestion, build a market complex and slaughter house. Former ward 1 councillor and BJP candidate V. Vatsala said the market complex would not only solve the traders’ problem, but also boost the civic body’s revenue.
The other demands from the Zone included synchronisation of the Corporation and City Police limits and transfer of administration of schools in added areas to the civic body, said Kavundampalayam MLA P.R.G. Arunkumar.
