North Chennai

The Neglected North

My career in journalism began with an article in the Indian Express about the woes of North Chennai. My first byline story was on how lorries and trailers were being repaired on the road, abutting residential buildings at Royapuram. And since then North Chennai has had an abundant presence in my articles in The Hindu also. Several issues - the public campaign on not allowing Kattupalli, a verdant ecosystem in Minjur to be converted into a petro products park, the sea erosion at Ennore and Royapuram, the problems of environmental pollution from coal and iron ore dust, the dumping of garbage along the north Chennai coastline, the need to remove encroachments, the changing face of North Chennai when a Corporation Commissioner M.P. Vijayakumar spearheaded an initiative when J. Jayalalitha was the Chief Minister, to green and beautify pockets of the city.
But neglect of a place is a vicious circle that no amount of writing or an external force can break. The desire for a change has to come from within the people. The change can happen only with a certain self-realisation of the situation one is caught in, a realisation of one's rights and demanding it and also a realisation of one's responsibilities. And so a revolutionary change is possible only when the residents of North Chennai rise together in one voice and force to demand their right to better livelihood.