My City - How Liveable it is today? What can I do to make it more liveable?

This was the topic given to me for the state level essay competition which was hosted by THE HINDU jointly with THE UNO, which was held a few months back, and I was positioned third.

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Thoothukudi – An Introduction:

Tuticorin or more recently rechristened as Thoothukudi to match with its Tamil equivalent is the city, I would like to write about being quite close to the village by. This city is also known as the Pearl City (or MuthuNagar
As we call it in Tamil) being the hub center for collection of pearls from the deep sea. This city has played a major role in the freedom movement against the British rule. From the port of Tuticorin was the first ship, which sailed with an Indian flag atop under the captainship of great freedom fighter V.O.Chidambaram Pillai. The Kattabomman brothers, Vanchinathan who have created history with their valor have lived around this port city. Tiruchendur, one of the six abodes of the Hindu deity is about 40 kilometres from Tuticorin. Since 1960’s the new port of Tuticorin has come into being and Tuticorin now is considered one of the major ports in our country.


How liveable is my city today? What can I do to make it more liveable?:

Well now let me come to the moot question “How livable is my city?” Before that let us perceive the criteria that make a city livable. First things first. One of the basic needs namely shelter should be available for its citizens at affordable prices. In Thoothukudi almost everybody has a shelter, even the poorest having holed up in hutments. The city is free of sky scrappers, the houses are little cramped in the city proper, but well laid out around the suburbs where quite a number of colonies having spring up during recent years. The cost of purchasing a land and constructing houses is definitely on the increase but still reachable to middle classes. The Port Trust colony, the Thermal Nagar colony, the SPIC Nagar colony, the Heavy Water Plant colony, the DCW ltd. Colony, the Tac Nagar colony are townships built by the concerned organizations with all necessary infrastructure. One thing about which Thoothukudi can be proud of is the almost non-existence of slum dwelling.
The educational facilities in and around Thoothukudi meet the needs of the children in this place what with a plethora of primary, secondary and Higher Secondary schools. Catering to both Tamil and English medium aspirants the colleges around dishing out degrees in Arts, Science, Engineering, Medicines, Fisheries, Law, Home Science etc. and thus Thoothukudi is firmly entrenched in the educational map of Tamilnadu.
Thoothukudi is a Railway Terminus from where we have access to all corners of our country, it has a non-functional airport (I for one am not able to appreciate the lethargy on the part of civil aviation authorities in providing fuelling facilities for the aircraft, the availability of which should make this airport agog with activities), buses both government and private run ply to the nook and corner of the city and we also have the waterways, the passenger ferry service to Sri Lanka. Though the major roads are well maintained the ones inside the city are full of potholes and need the attention of the civic authorities for carrying out repairs. Traffic congestions do take place despite the best efforts by the police department to divert the lorry traffic to the periphery.

There is no proper drainage system in place and the Buckle Canal needs to be thoroughly desilted for allowing proper flow into the sea. Drinking water to the people is supplied through municipal taps and tanker lorries but the demand far outweighs the supply and here is one area where efforts should be made for conserving water by digging out ponds and diverting the Tambiraparani river water, rain water harvesting etc..

With growing population of both men and motor vehicles, problems of pollution have started cropping up. Though the levels of oxides of Nitrogen and oxides of sulphur in the air may not be as high as in the metros or bigger cities, still I feel the switch over to CNG (Compressed Natural Gas in Delhi should apply to all cities and use of diesel for vehicles should be banned. Littering of plastic wastes is a menace in itself (for heaven sake do not brand me as a campaigner of Anti plastic lobbyists and I firmly believe the plastics are very much need for the sake of improving our national economy and no effort should be made to ban them. Let the Green Peace movement look for different pastures!) and the two-bucket garbage disposal scheme namely one for the plastic and the other for non-plastic must be in place. Here again the municipalities have to be woken up from their deep slumber and made to do what they are supposed to do – keep the city clean.

Job opportunities aren’t many given the kind of recession the country is undergoing through even though we have a few big industries around. However these are enough opportunities to star one’s own industry especially in the processing of seafoods, fishing, salt and related products. The SIPCOT complex at Milavittan provides the necessary infrastructure.

Thoothukudi is a place of varies culture and where communal harmony is quite prevalent. The annual festival of the church of Our Lady of Snows, where a golden chariot is hauled up attracts everyone the Christians, the Hindus and the Muslims alike.

Regarding health care, apart from the Government Hospitals, there are quite a few private ones which have the latest facilities and one need not venture out of town for medical attention except for major surgeries or problems connected with heart. Almost all major banks have their branches around the city and the latest facilities like ATM
(Automated Teller Machine) is being introduced. Cell phone facilities are available (The city police would do well to stop its use while driving) at affordable rates.

Conclusion:

In conclusion I would like to sum up by saying that the major problem confronting Thoothukudi is the supply of drinking water and as already mentioned earlier rain water harvesting must be made mandatory in all buildings. Digging of reservoirs for storing water (the big industries like SPIC, Sterlite, DCW, the Lions clubs, the Rotary Clubs can help in this regard) and diverting the Tambiraparani water before it meets the sea can be thought of.
The two-bucket scheme for garbage disposal should be implemented and the schools around should take a lead in educating the people. The Buckle Canal should be disilted and encroaches around this area should be relocated elsewhere. A citizens committee can be formed to monitor the functioning of civic bodies and the areas of concern like poor road maintainence, sanitation can be addressed to.
Should these be done, I believe, Thoothukudi will be a paradise on earth for one to live.

I conclude by quoting Robert Frost:

“The woods are lovely dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep”.